Family complains of police assault
It is not a new story–in fact the subject is all too common–but that doesn’t make incidents of police brutality any less disturbing. Jacqueline Woods reports on allegations of one Belize City family.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Twenty-two year old Philip Castillo, a mason with the Belize City Council, is at home recovering from injuries the family claims he received at the hands of the police.
Philip Castillo, Injured
“I can’t do nothing, I can’t do nothing. They choke me round mi neck.” (holds chest in pain)
Around 10:45 on Thursday night, Castillo was standing by his gate smoking weed when he saw the police. Fifty-one year old Patricia Parchue says she was inside her house in the back of the yard when her son rushed to her saying the police were after him. But Parchue says before she could say anything, three armed police officers charged towards them and started to beat her son by the front door.
Patricia Parchue, Philip’s Mother
“They begin to drag him by his hair from behind me. And I tell them, weh he do unu? (what did he do you) One of them seh, (said) the dark skin one seh, I noh wahn (want to) hear a motherf— from you. He said, because you are a f—ing ass. I tell ah, (him) how unu di (you the) tell me that? Mek (let) I assist my son fi unu. They tell me, assist, they noh have no f—ing time to assist nothing. So I tell them like this, why you have to do ah all ah that fa, (for) he kill anybody? The next one seh, I noh wahn hear a f— from you, I di tell you again because you wah (will) get just like weh (what) he get right now. So one of them punched me in my jaw and I dropped on top ah my son.”
The commotion awoke Castillo’s sister, Stephanie Parchue. Parchue says when she came outside, she saw the police, who she described as officers from the Dragon Unit and C.I.B., assaulting her brother.
Stephanie Parchue, Philip’s Sister
“When I run out ya, (here) I see my bredda (brother) on the ground and the police harassing ah (him). And I see him like this and one ah (of) them with his boots stomped him in his chest and choked ah. They tell ah, he swallow the weed, he swallow the weed. But he di holler, I gat no weed. And one of them punched him in the chest and he dropped down there. From there they started to choke him by ya so, like they di grab this grab this (points to Adam’s apple) and from there he gone from himself.”
Parchue says as her brother lost consciousness, her mother fainted and one of the policemen, with badge number 285, started to scream at them to get a bottle of alcohol in an effort to revive her brother.
Stephanie Parchue
“We tell him we noh have no alcohol. And he holler, get the alcohol, get the alcohol. And when I come out, I see my mother on the ground faint weh. And I start cuss them and I tell dehn (them), watch weh you do my brother, he dah no criminal, watch weh you do ah. And from there they stood up like dehn simple, they noh seh (say) nothing, they only di bawl fi alcohol.”
According to Parchue, it was not until she threatened to take the matter to Ombudsman Paul Rodriguez, that the officers left.
Stephanie Parchue
“My son gone to the front and tell the lady to phone for the ambulance. And he said, let’s go because dah two ah dehn, the lady faint and the boy can’t come back, so let’s go cause dah two ah dehn gwine (it’s two of them going) in the ambulance. And from then they gone.”
Castillo’s mother recovered at the house, but shortly after the BERT ambulance arrived, Castillo had to be given oxygen and was later admitted to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. He was treated for harm that included bruises he sustained to his chest, ribs and jaw. Around 7:45 this morning Castillo was discharged. However, the family says just as criminals should be held responsible for their actions, the same rule of thumb should be applied to the police.
Stephanie Parchue
“They kudda mi (could have) come good, even if they just point the gun on my bredda and tell him come to me. Mek ih (let him) get scared and he kudda mi go, but dah way in my ma house. They could get big charge for that. My ma could charge them for that, because dah right front ah my ma door, my bredda, they could ah mi kill him.”
Jacqueline Woods reporting for News 5.
According to the Parchue family, they have filed a complaint with the Police Department. However, when News 5 contacted the police, the authorities informed us that they were not aware of the incident or if Dragon Unit and C.I.B. officers were involved. They say that if a report was made, the complaint will be investigated by Internal Affairs and if any officers are found to have acted wrongly, they will be punished.
