And while the dispute at this point is a matter for the court, in real terms it is a battle for control of the Police Association - and that's a contest Corporal Eldon Arzu lost weeks ago when the election was held.
Sergeant Jane Usher defeated him handily, by a margin of almost three to one. And four weeks later, we learned that Usher has been promoted form Sergeant To Inspector.
Today the press asked the COMPOL if this suggests that he has promoted his favoured candidate to lead the police association. The Commissioner pointed to Usher's highly qualified credentials:
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Belize
"I don't think that there is a need for me to justify Jane Usher's promotion. As far as I'm concerned Jane Usher is under-ranked in the sense that Ms. Usher possesses a Master's degree in Criminology or Criminal justice she is a 13 of 14 year veteran of this police department with an impeccable record. Every police officer in the department who possesses the equivalent of MS. Usher's promotions are inspector and above. It is only fitting that she be treated as her peers. It is a part of what we do to be able to attract highly qualified persons to stay within the department. You would know that people go, they get qualified and they are not recognized for their qualifications, then what happens? They eventually leave and go elsewhere. The department has evolved so much that it is time for us to do what we can to be able to keep our highly qualified police officers within our ranks and with that, Ms. Usher was given a special promotion to the rank of acting Inspector of police based on her qualification, her work ethics, and her professionalism."
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