The state of emergency, which encompasses parts of Southside Belize City and the Cayo District, started ten days ago, and since then, there have been complaints about police abuse and excessive force. One such complaint comes from the Locke family on Rasta Street in Belize City. Ryan Locke was at home last Tuesday getting ready for work when police officers reportedly banged on his door, cursed at his 11-year-old son, and then detained him as part of the SOE even though the family claims he was not on their list of gang members. Now he'll be spending a month in prison - days that he should have been at work. Our team went to his home today and Courtney Menzies has this story.
An 11-year-old boy and his sister are left traumatized after police officers raided their homes on the first morning of the State of Emergency.
According to their grandmother, the boy was verbally abused by the officers for not opening the door quick enough.
Voice of: Valerie Arnold, Mother-in-Law
"They came early one morning, last week Tuesday I think, a little bit after 6am, a whole about two, three, four trucks full of police and they just barge into the yard, cranking up their guns and demanding to open up the door and when the door wasn't being opened quick enough, they demanded that it be opened in a very aggressive way. My grandson looked through the window from upstairs and they saw him when he opened the window so one of them in an aggressive way curse him, open the effing door, a-hole. My grandson is 11 years old, he's big in his body but he's only 11. And when he didn't open the door quick enough, they continued in that manner."
They reportedly shoved the little boy as well, which prompted his father, Ryan Locke Sr, to pull out his cellphone and begin recording, while also verbally assaulting the officers in defence of his son.
Voice of: Valerie Arnold, Mother-in-Law
"When my son-in-law was videoing he was also cursing them, they were about to leave but my son-in-law was hurt because it wasn't the first time they came in that manner but last year when they came in this yard also, they had cranked guns at my grandson again. So my grandson is traumatized, each time they come here he's traumatized so that was why when they demanded to open the door, he's frightened so he didn't open the door right away so they cursed him out and my son-in-law, that got to him and he just cursed them out and they came back and they took him. We though they were going to let him out that day but instead he called his wife, my daughter, and told her that they're taking him up."
So while Locke wasn't supposed to be locked up under the SOE, the officers still took him to prison, forcing him to miss work.
Voice of: Valerie Arnold, Mother-in-Law
"He's not part of SOE, he has a job and he was set to go to work that day, he was set to work that whole week right through all the Easter days, he was looking forward to that but instead they send him up on SOE and he has never been a part of that, his name was not on that list or anything."
Courtney Menzies:
"So now he has to stay in jail for like a month, missing his job for a month."
Voice of: Valerie Arnold, Mother-in-Law
"Yes, that's exactly it. My daughter got a letter from his boss stating that he has a job and he's not into that type of lifestyle."
Now his children are left with a fear of the police, and a jaded view of the justice system.
Voice of: Valerie Arnold, Mother-in-Law
"Everyday they miss their dad, him and his little sister, everyday they miss their dad, sometimes they cry because they think it wasn't fair what was done to them."
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