Escaped convict also claims brutality
And while there may be independent witnesses who will be able to shed light on Thursday night’s incident in Hattieville, in Cayo, investigators of another alleged case of police brutality will have a more difficult time. Twenty-three year old Fernando Crawford, an escaped inmate of the Hattiveille Correctional Facility, was shot in both legs last week, reportedly as he threatened arresting officers with a machete. Today from his hospital bed, Crawford told News 5 that after being on the run since the end of July, he decided to surrender himself to the cops in Esperanza last Tuesday afternoon, never thinking that a trip to the hospital would be the result.
Fernando Crawford, Alleges Police Brutality
?So I just ride with the police when I see they take me in a orange field in Esperanza, about a mile and a half out of the village. When we reached there, one of the police jump out and he let me out and he released the hand cuff. And he tell me to walk. So between that when he tell me to walk I done suggest more or less within my mind this man will shoot me because ah the problem. So I never walk. So he shove me away. When he shove me, the first time, he shove me he shot me through my leg. And I fell on the ground. And the officer came over me and he shot me again in this part of they leg. And he turns me over and he shot me on the same side of the leg to the back.?
Patrick Jones
?Not to cut you off, but you are claiming that the police shot you while you were hand-cuffed??
Fernando Crawford
?While I was handcuffed back way back way, the police shot me in both my legs. And from there they took me to the san Ignacio hospital. And that is how I reached here.?
Patrick Jones
?The police are claiming that you were caught burglarizing a house is Esperanza??
Fernando Crawford
?It was a lie. I was at my brother?s house. I was draining a little bottle. I just reached there and opened my brother?s house door, he was not there, but I have authority to reach at his place.?
G. Michael Reid, Police Press Officer
?Again Patrick whenever a shooting occurs, particularly where there is a police officer is involved, an investigation is conducted. This individual was an escaped prisoner and in fact was in question for a number of burglaries that had occurred. They found this gentleman near an area that was burglarized and in fact he attempted to flee. But when he was cornered attempted to aggress the police. That is what we have so far. Again an investigation is underway and if there is anyone who has information to the contrary we ask that the individual, please come forward with that information.
Patrick Jones
?Mr Crawford is claiming that he actually gave himself up to your officers and that he was taken to an orange orchard in Esperanza where he was shot.?
G. Michael Reid, Police Press Officer
?That is incredible, because I would hope that there aren?t police officers that would indeed do such a thing. As far as we understand from the reports of the officers that we got, and this is not just one police officer, that would have been a conspiracy from a number of police officers which does not seem likely to me.?
Anyone with information on any of the police shootings should contact the police internal affairs department.
