On duty cop charged with rape attempt
It seems like for every step forward made by the Police Department, at least two are taken in the opposite direction. The latest blow to the image of law enforcement came this weekend in the form of an accusation of attempted rape–allegedly perpetrated by an officer who used his official position to gain his victim’s confidence.
Patrick Jones, Reporting
The victim, identified only as a twenty-six year old woman, had just exited the Eden nightclub around two-thirty on Saturday morning. Commander of Internal Affairs and Discipline, Inspector Robert Mariano, says that a routine police operation went terribly wrong.
Insp. Robert Mariano, Commander, Internal Affairs
“She was arrested by the police officer for driving a motor vehicle without insurance. While she was arrested, she was to be taken to the police station, and instead of escorted to the police station, she was escorted to the hanger area.”
That is where, according to investigators, twenty-three year old Police Constable Adrian Lopez attempted to have sex with the suspect. But before any sexual contact was made, another vehicle drove up which gave the young woman a window of opportunity to escape.
Insp. Robert Mariano
“She screamed and a person came and it was then they called 911 and they made a complaint to the police and immediately the police came to the scene.”
When the officers arrived, Lopez had already fled the scene, but was picked up a short time later.
Insp. Robert Mariano
“I was summoned, as the Commander Internal Affairs and Discipline and I came to Belize city and I conducted an investigation into the matter and the police was arrested and charged for attempted rape and indecent assault on this said day.”
Lopez, who has been on the force since May of this year, has since been interdicted from duty. He appeared in Belize City Magistrate’s Court this afternoon. No plea was taken, and he was offered and met bail of six thousand dollars. But while Lopez now awaits his date with justice in the Supreme Court, Mariano says the other officers on patrol with him are not off the hook.
Patrick Jones
“Now you said that he left Eden’s nightclub with the victim in the vehicle. Why was that, why didn’t they take the lady and put her in the police car?”
Insp. Robert Mariano
“Well at this stage I cannot say why they didn’t put her in the police vehicle. That’s another matter, or area that I am investigating as well because I’m not just investigating the criminal part of it, but I’m also investigating other irregularities that other officers might have committed as well because there were other offices. So there is no slack at all. We at the Internal Affairs and Discipline ought to look at the whole picture and to see if any other people committed any other irregularities and it is our duty to deal with them.”
While that part of the investigation is not yet complete, Mariano says since P.C. Lopez was not the senior officer, he should not have been left alone with the suspect. And the senior officer, P.C. Daniel Lawrence, has a whole lot of explaining to do.
Insp. Robert Mariano
“I believe that he slipped up somewhere because he shouldn’t have allowed Lopez to go to go along with the female by herself. Or what he could have done is to keep the female with them in the police vehicle and cause Lawrence to drive the vehicle to the station by himself. So because of that, that is why Lawrence I believe should give some more explanation and if there is any area where I could find him to err, then like I said, we will deal with him as well.”
Patrick Jones for News 5.
During interrogation P.C. Lopez exercised his constitutional right to remain silent.
