So, while the cops do their part to enforce the State of Emergency and now the Cayo District lockdown to keep the community spread of the virus to a minimum, the police department is already coming under fire for alleged abuse of that authority given to them by those regulations.
This weekend, a group of families living in an apartment complex in the San Martin area of Belmopan accused police officers of using the curfew as an excuse to harass them. They're also claiming that officers put a severe beatdown on the elderly landlord for no apparent reason.
Best information suggests that it happened some time near the start of the 8 p.m. curfew. These families say that a group of officers encountered one of the apartment's tenants on the street. They pursued the violation of the curfew, and that's when the incident allegedly escalated to police brutality.
One of the eyewitnesses spoke with our colleagues from Plus TV News, and here's what he had to say about the incident:
Byron Guerra - Eyewitness
"The guys come in last night. Everybody was already in here after 8, but we heard gunshots. Everybody was in their room. They heard gunshots so we came out to see who it was because my brother-in-law was out. We thought that either he got it. So, we ran out here to see if it was him. They chased us back, shooting at us, [and told] us that we have to get inside. So, everybody got inside. The old man locked the gate. The landlord locked the gate. Everybody was inside. They came back. They know the guy, Damian. They told him, 'Damian, stop behaving like that because you are with your crowd.' So then, they started cursing my brother in law."
"They said, We will come back for you all. You all aren't on the street, so we can't hurt you all right now. But, we are going to come back for you all. My brother-in-law told them, 'Well, we aren't in the street. SO, you all can't come in here and do anything to us."
"They came back with 2 cars this time. They came in with their masks, kicked open the door. Everybody was over there. They got frightened because they came in pointing at everybody. Everybody scattered. They took my two brothers-in-law, beat them up because they are the ones who know Damian. They took my brother-in-law from all the way over there, my mother-in-law's room, kicked him up. The old man, the landlord, was in front of his door when they brought him and kicked him up. The other guy was with the landlord trying to stop them from hurting the landlord because he is sick, and he is almost 80. He is old. So, they ended up shooting the other guy. So, all of this, they came back again this morning, to try and pick up whatever proof they could get of it. It looks like they even took the padlock because it was on the door that they broke open."
On Saturday morning, Police Commissioner Chester Williams made a Facebook to announcing that this incident would be investigated.
In his post, he said, quote, "There is a video circulating on Facebook depicting police officers beating on some people, including an elderly man. Please note, that this is not what the State of Emergency is about. While we expect that people are going to obey the regulations, we also expect that our officers are going to respect the human rights and dignity of our citizenry. I have therefore directed the matter to Professional Standards Branch for a full and thorough investigation." End quote.
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