Roaring Creek Family Claims Police Brutality
It is not known if Tuesday night’s shooting of Nelson Nunez Junior led to an early morning raid this morning in Roaring Creek Village, but tonight, a family is claiming police brutality on a fourteen-year-old minor from the village. What led to the minor being hit in the face is not known at this time, but reports are that police went searching for guns and ammunition as well as for alleged gang members. News Five’s Duane Moody reports.
Duane Moody, Reporting
Around 5:30 this morning, a group of officers raided the property of Mama Chen, a well-known resident of Roaring Creek Village. The family says that when the officers came knocking, claiming that they were searching for guns and ammunition, they voluntarily opened their doors to them.
Shevonne Nunez
Shevonne Nunez, Aunt of Minor
“Nothing wrong with that; they have to do dehn job. We understand they have to do their job. And I noh di say dah all di police dehn mi di go on wah way. Because one weh mi deh with the crowd, he mi di tell dehn relax, he mi di tell dehn behave. I proud of him because he knows. And when my ma di tell dehn ih noh want dehn di chance mi grand pikney dehn, he say “Miss we noh come here for that.” But dah di next set weh gone over my sister house.”
But what happens next was unthinkable. A fourteen-year-old minor is allegedly struck by one of the officers, causing the family to react. Shevonne Nunez captures in a live video this morning, how officers handcuffed her fourteen-year-old nephew, along with two others, and put him in the pan of a pickup truck.
Shevonne Nunez
“Watch how di lee bwai di go on. Who want dehn knock dehn fi nothing? You know you innocent and they wahn di beat you pan top? That dah pass fool. It hurt me so bad fi dehn come and want di try beat up people. Unu come, ker dehn fi unu investigation, hold dehn fi dehn forty-eight [hours] nothing wrong. I noh remember if I say this already, but nobody neva mi di resist arrest, nobody. No nobody. The one weh punch my nephew ina ih nose, he done di put ih foot ina my nephew chest and my sister gone and stop ahn; tell ahn none ah that, none ah that. Ih still end up punch ahn.”
The incident has left the family traumatised because aside from the minor that was taken into custody, there were several younger children inside the house.
Shevonne Nunez
“Unu hear how I sound it’s because I feel mi inside di tremble. We noh use to then ya thing. We noh use to then yah thing. My family noh into dehn thing. I got two nephew and if my nephew deh ina wrong or whatever, we noh wah condone that. We noh wah condone it. Who all know fi we family know that we noh into no stupidness and we noh tolerate stupidness. We dah nothing but love. And the way how they come to my family and beat up my nephew and I noh think nobody ina dehn right mind wah stay deh and watch they do that.”
Nunez says that the family intends to make a report with the Professional Standards Branch of the Belize Police Department.
Shevonne Nunez
“Right now my sister is dealing with it because it’s her son, he is a minor, dehn put dehn hand pan ahn. So my sister is dealing with it as we speak right now.”
Duane Moody
“Are they still in detention?”
Shevonne Nunez
“Right now they got them under investigation. So they tell she to wait. So when dehn done, the social worker will talk to them.”
Duane Moody for News Five.
