Cops charged for extortion at checkpoint

Two more men–this time police officers–were arrested over the weekend and we’re not sure whether to be angry that those sworn to protect us may be robbing us, or to be happy that the system of justice actually worked. Police constables Aurelio Cajon and Marlon Martinez have been charged with extortion following their arrest on Saturday morning at the Boom cut-off. According to a police release, the pair were on duty at the regular checkpoint on the Northern Highway when they allegedly shook down four people destined for Sand Hill to purchase a vehicle. According to the unnamed occupants, the two cops stopped them and took their wallets containing one thousand six hundred Quetzales and a hundred and twenty Belize dollars and told them to move on. That’s just what they did, heading directly to the nearest police station. The Internal Affairs Department was called and officers from the city immediately visited the checkpoint where Cajon and Martinez were identified by the victims. Martinez was also implicated by an incoming phone call–answered by an Internal Affairs officer–arranging to cash a quantity of Quetzales. The police commissioner urges the public to report instances of official abuse and repeats that while he will always back his officers when they perform their duties properly, his policy of zero tolerance for police wrongdoing will not be compromised. Cajon and Martinez, in addition to their criminal charges, also face internal disciplinary action.