In the past eighteen months, cases of spirit possession have been reported in two schools at Big Falls and Hattieville. Cases have also been reported in small rural communities. So far the cases have been coming out of small rural communities. Well now it’s come to a city and of all places, Belmopan where the police academy has been shaken up by what senior officers feel has the appearance of either spirit possession or mass psychological trauma that’s affecting only the female recruits.

It came to a head yesterday when we have confirmed a senior officer and the girl’s father witnessed a female recruit in the throes of some type of event where she spoke in a man’s voice and was difficult to restrain. In total, four female recruits were affected and all of them reported or manifested some level of strange feeling or behaviour. Religious men were brought in but the ominous feeling didn’t lift and last night the senior command had to take the decision to send all 16 female recruits home. Sounded slightly hokey, but if it was enough to push the senior command to act – I figured there had to be something to the story, so I headed west today.

Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
Whatever transpired inside the female dorm remains a mystery and the police are not telling us exactly what happened. All we know is that the women who have been in training since November for the first time on Monday started to complain about feeling uncomfortable inside the building. Whatever was told to the Acting Commandant prompted her to have the building blessed.

My cameraman Alex Ellis and I wanted to venture inside the female dorm to see if we would experience anything out of the ordinary but we were flatly denied access.

Inspector Vianney Robinson, Acting Commandant
“Jackie I wasn’t here yesterday but I understand that four of our ladies fainted yesterday. I know prior to that on Monday evening I personally met with the females and a couple of them told me that they were feeling uncomfortable in the female dorm.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
Why?

Inspector Vianney Robinson,
“I don’t want to get into details on that and based on that I sought the assistance of getting a father in to bless the dorm.”

Father Kevin Headerman was the first to arrive but he says what he witnessed would be characterized more as a traumatic event.

Fr. Kevin Headerman,
“I took note of the fact that just after my arrival I was blessing the building and they had actually taken one of the cadets out of building and she was stressed out. Obviously discomfort, maybe traumatized, possibly having a fit or what some might call possession. I am not sure what it is. My expertise does not extend that far but I can tell you that she obviously was having the same problems that other candidates had experienced one way or the other over the last couple days.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
And while you were blessing the building, nothing out of the ordinary happened?

Fr. Kevin Headerman,
“Not for me, not for me but things like this, it is not for me to choose or not for me to call it. I believe whatever they were experiencing is what they were experiencing. I saw trauma and I saw people and I saw fits and saw some women who were very uncomfortable with what was happening.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
Whatever it was?

Fr. Kevin Headerman,
“Whatever it was. My expertise is not that I can call it what it is. They obviously were feeling very very upset by what they had seen and heard.”

We could not speak to any of the female cadets who were affected because according to the acting Commandant of the Police Training Academy in Belmopan Inspector Vianney Robinson all of the sixteen women in training have been sent home for the next four days.

Inspector Vianney Robinson,
“But I understand that they fainted, a couple of them were taken to the hospital and the doctor I understand said it might be stress. From what I understand, they have all fully recovered. As usual, today would have been their walkout and they usually return Sunday evening so they will be here Sunday evening to continue training.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
So it not because they fell ill or something may have happened to them as to why they were sent home one day earlier?

Inspector Vianney Robinson,
“Not necessarily.”

Whether it was a case of possession or simply the stress of training that took a toll on some of the women the police are still unsure of what happened.

Inspector Vianney Robinson,
“We are still trying to find out what exactly had gone on but according to the doctor it might be stress, I personally don’t know.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
The four who fell ill all stayed inside the same dorm?

Inspector Vianney Robinson,
“Yes all sixteen live inside the female dorm.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
And it was only these four though that complained about feeling uncomfortable for whatever reason and it was only these four that fainted?

Inspector Vianney Robinson,
“It was not the same four that complained. I know of one that complained but she did not faint yesterday.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
What know becomes of that dorm, does it remain closed or will you all be investigating to see as to what might have led to these women’s strange behaviour?

Inspector Vianney Robinson,
“Like I said we got the assistance of Fr. Kevin who came yesterday and he blessed the dorm and later on in the evening we got the assistance of Pastor Richard Smith and a couple other pastors whose names I cannot remember at this time.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
That’s a lot of pastors.

Inspector Vianney Robinson,
“Yeah they came in and they prayed over the dorm. Some of the females were still around and they prayed over them.”

And if there is something haunting the female dorm much less the compound of the police training academy in Belmopan we neither saw nor experienced it.

As noted in the story, the recruits return on Monday.