Is it police brutality? Broken jaw man says yes
Anthony Tate
And while those cases in Toledo were done at the hands of fake cops, a city resident is saying that he was beaten up while in the south by real police officers. Belize City resident Anthony Tate says he doesn’t know why the cops beat him during a recent visit to friends in Dangriga. Tate says not even a broken jaw, wired back together, can stop him from speaking about the need for justice.
Anthony Tate, Alleged Police Brutality Victim
“I have a friend of mine weh I very close to. Ih got wah piece of land down in seventeen miles south. Find out that while I was there, I usually take my walk to Dangriga and thing. Well I was associating with some of my friends—tdi take wah lee you know—but at the same time now, the police come from nowhere and of course I might have been the target being that I am a stranger of the area and the man dehn start to harass me. And the man dehn beat me. Sooner or later, dehn ker me dah di station and lock me down. Next day morning when dehn bring dehn food, I tell them I can’t eat. But then of course ih look like dehn make up dehn mind fi release me. When dehn release me, one of dehn same one when I di walk through di door said well you should go see the doctor because maybe yo bruk yo jaw. Well I take it make my precious business and I come down to Belize City and I gone to the Karl Heusner Hospital and the doctors put me through examinations. When I get to find out that I got a broken jaw. Alright good. They give me some medication and thing. I di bear pain night and day—sometimes four o’clock I di go dah the hospital because di pills noh di work; just to get an injection. And of course right now I can’t eat for a month.”
Jose Sanchez
“So what do you want? You want the police to compensation you?”
Anthony Tate
“Well mien, of course I noh know weh really this could boil down to, but all weh I want dah just get some justice out of this because dehn police brutality really di get outta hand.”
Jose Sanchez
“Have you reported it to internal affairs?”
Anthony Tate
“Well I gone to the Ombuds people and dehn say dehn wah send one to the commissioner and send one to the district officer in charge.”
Jose Sanchez
“But you need to go to internal affairs.”
Anthony Tate
“Well if that could be the only solution, then if I have to I will do it.”
