Brooks reaffirms that police killed Mangar in self defense
It was a press conference that members of the press had expected to attend on Monday, in the wake of the Sunday killing of Wensworth Mangar, perhaps the most wanted fugitive in modern Belizean history. That it came four days later, with nothing but official silence in between, led much of the public to suspect a cover-up and fueled rumors that it was not the police who killed Mangar, allegedly in self defense, but a civilian, perhaps even a paid assassin. Dressed for the occasion in freshly pressed camouflage fatigues, Police Commissioner Ornel Brooks was not in an apologetic mood and made it clear from the outset that when it came to relations with the press he was… pardon the expression… taking no prisoners. Here are some clips of what he had to say.
Ornel Brooks, Commissioner of Police
“The operation, “Proper” was launched at 1 a.m. on Sunday morning and was concluded at 8 a.m. that same morning in the area of Valley of Peace. During the operation our people under cover observed the fugitive Mangar visiting a particular residence. He was, he tried to make contact with the people inside but failed to do so.
When he was ordered by our security, police officers to surrender himself, he opened fire, we returned. We fired two shots. It was a regulated fire, a double top situation and what that simply means is that when you fire one you fire a second to make sure that you perhaps hit your target. We are certain that he was hit by the first shot in the region of the chest on the left hand side and he fell in a supine position, with his weapon in hand.”
Q: “What was the range or distance between police and Mangar at the time?”
Ornel Brooks
“We reckon something like twenty five meters, maximum.
The police have been combing that area ever since we intensified our search for Mangar. We’ve never given up on that area, or any of the areas that he had been reportedly been seen. It was our intelligence unit that developed the situational profile.
Because this was solely a police investigation that was developed and executed, the money will be shared in an equitable manner for all the different agencies that participated and in addition to that every district formation, police formation will be getting something from that money because you have to understand that right across the nation, every formation in the rural and urban area worked on this case.”
Q: “Could you Commissioner explain why it is only five days after the event, why it took five days for the police department to hold this press conference and can the public be blamed for a certain amount of skepticism, regarding the details and specifics?”
Ornel Brooks
“First of all let me say that when Mangar was taken down, he was taken down during a part of an overall operation. We still had people inserted in other areas in that same vicinity. And we, it would have been stupid of us to be holding press conference and giving details at the time when our people were out there sacrificing in that jungle… In addition to that when you talk about public skepticism, I think both of us, I don’t know if you have more contact with the public than we do, we’ll flip a coin on that. And I can tell you that the public have been very, very positive towards us, very positive.”
Q: “What you’re saying, beyond all those words Commissioner is that you suspected that Gabourel and Williams were in that same area. Is that what you’re telling us?”
Ornel Brooks
“In the same general area, yes sir. Not so much Gabourel, Williams.”
Q: “Mr. Commissioner, do you believe like the family of Mr. Mangar is believing that the system failed in the sense that Mr. Mangar did not escape from prison, he was released?”
Ornel Brooks
“Of course that he was released inadvertently is not satisfactory. However, that did not give him the right to remain at large. We talked to that Mangar family, we talked to relatives, friends to try and tell Mangar to come in.”
Q: “What system has been put in place to ensure that it is not repeated where another prisoner is released inadvertently?”
Ornel Brooks
“Certainly I don’t think the Prisons Department will make that mistake again.”
Just for the record, we’ll note that the Prisons Department has maintained all along that the mistake of releasing Wensworth Mangar is attributable solely to an administrative error on the part of the Police Department.
With the Mangar matter now part of history the commissioner looked to the future and made a direct appeal to the remaining two-thirds of the terrible trio: Marcel Gabourel and Douglas Williams.
Ornel Brooks
“We would like to say to them, come in. We don’t mind how you come. If you want to come with your attorney and if you want to come with the media, you’d be welcome. If you want to come with members of your family, friends come in, don’t let us have to go through this process of having to go into another type of confrontation like Mangar. Please come in. Give yourself to the law.”
And with the body of Wensworth Mangar lying six feet under the fertile earth of Roaring Creek, it’s probably not bad advice. Brooks also said that the as yet unidentified officer who shot Mangar with an M-16 rifle, will be named shortly in the course of a coroner’s inquest.
