Police Say Special Constable Conorquie Was Executed
Danny Conorquie
Tonight, there is national outrage over the murder of Tourism Police Officer, Danny Conorquie. In this newscast, we look at his callous slaying from all angles starting with the ongoing investigations. At midday on Thursday, twenty year old Tourism Police Officer Danny Conorquie was gunned down while on duty at the Caracol Mayan Site in the Cayo District. Details were sketchy at the time as B.D.F. officers and Police CIB and Scenes of Crime personnel scoured the scene. By evening, there was much information, or we should say misinformation, being circulated on many fronts including official sources. But tonight there is credible information which suggests that Conorquie was cold-bloodedly executed by Guatemalans, shot in the back as he did sentry duty for a group of tourists who were at the site. Our News Five team was in Cayo today looking for the truth, and Mike Rudon has the story.
Mike Rudon, Reporting
Special Constable Danny Conorquie, assigned to the Belize Tourism Board’s Tourism Police Unit, died at exactly eleven fifty-six on Thursday morning. The young man was on duty at the Caracol Mayan Site, where he would rotate for two weeks at a time. There has been much speculation, rumour and misinformation circulated, but Police investigations have shown that his death was an act of cold-blooded murder at the hands of men who caught him off-guard.
Reymundo Reyes
Insp. Reymundo Reyes, Deputy Commander, Cayo Formation
“Special Constable Conorquie and the other Special Constable at the site were conducting routine patrols, providing security for some tourists at the site. Special Constable Conorquie at the time was sitting down under some thatch shade facing the main temple at the Caracol Archaeological Site when the sound of a gunshot was heard and it appears that the person came from behind, from behind the bushes to his direction and he was first shot on his back. He dropped to the ground and then two more shots were heard. This is when apparently the gunman walked up to the officer, who was already on the ground, and fired the other shots on him, fatally wounding Special Constable Conorquie.”
According to Reyes, Conorquie was also shot on the left side of his ribcage and to the left side of the face. The other Tourism Police Officer on duty heard the shots and ran to the aid of his fallen friend, but it was too late.
Insp. Reymundo Reyes
“The other TPU was providing security for two or three tourists who were being toured around the area, but he was at a distance from where Special Constable Conorquie was, where they should have met after the tour. After hearing the first shot, he ran towards the direction where he knew the officer was, and that’s when he saw the person stood over the officer and fired the shot, fatally wounding the officer, and he saw a second individual picking up the shotgun that the officer had with him and they started to retreat back towards the bushes. These persons apparently had sight of the officer and they also fired shots in his direction. He ended up firing his shotgun in their direction but they made good their escape.”
While bureaucrats and diplomats have refused to say so…trained officers in the B.D.F. and Police who are no strangers to confrontation in that area say that the men who ambushed Conorquie were likely Guatemalan encroachers.
Insp. Reymundo Reyes
“We believe that these persons are…I cannot say that they are xateros…but we know that they are not Belizeans and might be Guatemalans. The area that they made their way, or their escape route, was heading towards the Guatemalan borderline, precisely to one of the villages, I think San Valentin. That is the direction that they made their escape. At the end of the day it was not one or two but three persons seen running away from the scene.”
An official government release Thursday evening, issued by the Ministry of National Security, stated that Special Constable Conorquie had attempted to approach two Hispanic men on horseback. According to Reyes, that is blatantly false. Not only did Conorquie not approach the men, but they escaped on foot, and not on horseback.
Danny Conorquie
Insp. Reymundo Reyes
“At no time did Special Constable Conorquie attempt to apprehend anybody when he was fatally injured. He was providing security as I mentioned. He was facing the main temple where tourists were at the top of the temple. We can say that he was caught off guard when he was fatally wounded, when he was first shot on his back.”
Police have recovered three expended nine millimetre shells from the area, and are still on the ground along with B.D.F. personnel, hoping to catch up with the culprits, we’re sure. Mike Rudon for News Five.
Nothing will happen with this. Just the usual outrage. No Guatemalans will be arrested and nothing will change with the tourism police or BDF escorts. The only thing that will happen is that all the tourist review websites will say to avoid Caracol and that Belize is a hotbed of violence. Tensions are escalating on the border and yet there is no response from Foreign Affairs, the OAS will do nothing but issue a statement condemning the incident and life will go on like nothing happened. Except for the Conorquie family. And sadly, after a few news reports, no one will care that he died. All we do in Belize is rail up. But nothing ever changes.
How can they guarantee those men were Guatemalans? Haven’t ppl realize that lately all the police do is blame the Guatemalans? Why would they blame them so that they don’t do their job of investigation. Its easier to say Oh it was Guatemalans and they have run to their country than to actually investigate and the correct heartless people that did this. Because they see Spanish man oh they are Guatemalan am a Spanish person and an a Belizean so if I kill someone ill get away with it a Guatemalan Female would be blame and am off the hook and the police sitting on their butts getting fatter.
I must agree that it was poor judgement that the police was so quick to blame this incident on an cross border incursion with out doing any real investigation.
Even though he might be correct but an investigation will add legitimacy to his claim.
Hope this is a learning experience.
The only way this crime will be solved is with money. The murderers are back in Guatemala by now. Put some cash in the right hands over there and someone will bag them up and drag them to the border. It has worked in the past and will work again. On our end, GOB needs to stop fooling around with our security and the safety of our visitors. Train, equip, and support the officers properly or better yet, just contract the job out to a company with the experience to handle the situation.
Yeap all of you Spanish are Guatemalan or Mexican doesn’t matter if you were born in Belize you all have the same fucked up mentality you don’t like African descent or black people all the Spanish do it just pretend much of the time because there is an agenda behind it same bullshit the Mexicans complain the police officer took there money they should be use to it that’s all there law enforcement agencies those take foreigners money and personal property that is of value who is just passing thru there stinking nasty country or visiting