Email

Print

Today he sat with his mayor at city hall and told us he was actually the peacemaker who ended up being attacked:

Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City
"So I saw the video prior to speaking with Councillor, but I really wanted to..."

Jules Vasquez
"What was your reaction when you saw it?"

Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City
"My reaction was, hey, I have to hear his side of the story. I don't like, look at what, you know, all those videos go. If you look at it, at first instance, you start to concock a lot of things in your head and so..."

Evan Thompson, City Councillor
"There was a previous altercation in the bar and we were just socializing, and I was trying to be the peacemaker, actually, right? And so I ended up sending one of the parties home while returning to my vehicle. I told the young man, you know, we were out here to party and have fun. We shouldn't be in violence or anything. And he just responded to me with a punch in the mouth."

"And I just stood there shook. I was, I was, I was shocked. You know, He didn't even give me any warning then. So I looked at him and I, I said in my mind, you know what? Because of who you are, you know, you can't get in this. And so I decided to walk towards my car, you know, thinking about everything that happened, walking towards my car. And he was still being aggressive in the background. The girls that were with him were just holding him back and stuff."

"And, you know, he was still trying to aggress me, steal it. And that's how we ended up in the scuffle. So it took a lot for me just to take the punch and walk away, right? Because I know I would have ended up on the news anyways, right? So, yeah."

Jules Vasquez
"When we had the case with Micah Goodin, same area, shades of it, but different because gun play was involved. Gun shots were fired at a totally different scale of event. But what sanction, if any, will you take against councillor Thompson?"

Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City
"No, the two cases are completely different, like what you alluded to. That was a situation where... there were charges involved in that situation. In this case, there is no charge involved. Actually, if any charge was to be pressed, it would have been on councillor pressing charges on the person who aggressed him."

"So, in this case, I support the consular. I have to support him. The mere fact that you are simply trying to ease a fight from occurring and you get punched in the mouth, it took a lot for him to really walk away. And so, I have to commend him on that. But at the same time, given the position that he's in as a public figure, I would have liked to see, and I continue to tell them, listen, politics and clubbing is not mixed."

"It's like oil and water. So, try to stay out of those areas. But these are your councillors."

Jules Vasquez
"But how much of that is because of the delicate balance of power in the council? The council is split. The council is divided with allegiances on one side, allegiances on yourself."

"Are you protecting him because he is a loyal mayor supporter?"

Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City
"No, I won't put it that way. And it's nothing about loyalty. I don't believe that this council is split whatsoever. I think this council is a working council with one clear goal, one clear objective."

Jules Vasquez
"But you would never appear here with the good Micah Goodin, who said he was also a victim. But you wouldn't ever pose off with Micah?"

Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City
"Micah, again, past councillor, we had with trouble. We have passed that bridge. As matter of fact, we have had very good discourse."