Police officer says BDF shot first

The Commission of Inquiry charged to investigate the shooting deaths of three Guatemalans took a break this afternoon, but not before a key witness gave testimony that directly contradicted a statement made by another witness last week. The lone police officer who made up the nine-member patrol listened carefully as Commission Chairman Herbert Lord read back the statement the officer gave on November twenty-second of last year to the Punta Gorda police. The officer affirmed under cross-examination that he was the man who shot two of the three victims. He told the Commission that five members of the nine-member patrol advanced when they saw the three Guatemalan men coming toward them with spear guns and machetes. The officer said he told the men to drop their weapons via an interpreter as they were all yelling in Spanish. He said he managed to subdue one of the three men and took away the spear gun, only to find that the other two charged at the BDF Second Lieutenant, who was in charge of the patrol. The police officer continued by telling the three-member Commission that the BDF officer took a few steps back in an effort to ward off the assailants. They continued to attack him, wielding their machetes. At this point the BDF officer fell down and fired a shot, which killed one of the Guatemalans. The police officer went on to say that while he continued on his way to the Ramirez house the man he had first subdued again came toward him with the remaining Guatemalan, both wielding machetes. He said that he had no choice but to shoot both of them as he was in danger of losing his life. The Dragon Unit officer’s account differs substantially from that of the Second Lieutenant who led the patrol. That witness told the commission last week that it was the police officer who fired the first shot. Lord, in summing up today’s hearing, asked the officer if he advised the head of the patrol that he as a policeman has a responsibility to the civilian part of government and not the military like the BDF has. The officer replied that he understood his responsibility, however, was ordered to retreat. Lord reiterated that the police officer had a duty to retrieve the weapons, secure the crime scene, and recover the bodies. Three Guatemalan women who witnessed the incident are expected to testify on Wednesday. Commission Chairman Lord told News 5 he’s made a special request to the Guatemalan Embassy to facilitate their presence at the hearing.