Police wound suspects in Cayo, Stann Creek
Not all the violence inflicted this weekend was done by civilians, as three people were wounded by police gunfire. In Cayo, two men were shot by cops following a drug bust on the Western Highway. Police on Wednesday intercepted a car between miles seventy-one and seventy-two in which they found three sacks chock full of marijuana, weighing in at one hundred and fifteen pounds. Officers were in the process of arresting the two occupants of the vehicle, but the suspects had other plans and put up a struggle. The police version of the incident is that one of the men reached for a screwdriver and the other approached the officers in a threatening manner. One of the cops drew his service revolver and shot both suspects in the leg. One of the injured men was still able to run, but became entangled in a barbed wire fence where he was detained. Today, one of the wounded, identified as Rudolph Tucker of Cotton Tree Village, called News 5 to his hospital bed at the K.H.M.H. to tell his side of the story. Even though we had gotten clearance from hospital officials to conduct the interview, the police officers guarding Tucker denied News 5 any access to him. A check with Police Commissioner Carmen Zetina informed us that once in police custody a suspect cannot be interviewed by the media.
Police also resorted to the force of firearms in Dangriga. Thirty-three year old Ernest Middleton of the town’s Lakeland area received a flesh wound to his leg following a disturbance at The 2000 Bar on January first. According to police, in the midst of a confrontation over an arrest being made by a fellow officer, Middleton hit police constable Mark Alvarez with a pint bottle, causing a deep wound in his head. When Middleton allegedly picked up a second bottle, Alvarez drew his licensed nine-millimetre pistol and shot Middleton in his left leg. Middleton was taken to the Southern Regional Hospital where his injury was treated. He was subsequently charged with aggravated assault and harm. A separate investigation will determine whether the use of force by Alvarez was justified.
