City Cops Went After 12 Year Old Boy For No Reason, Family Alleges
On Monday night you heard the mother of a thirteen year old boy complain about police actions against her son in Punta Gorda. Today, we spoke with the sister of another minor who says that her baby brother was taken advantage of by police officers in Belize City. Last Friday, twelve-year-old Rhyan Leslie was heading home on his bike after dropping lunch for his sibling at school when he was pulled over on Cemetery Road by four officers. He alleges that the cops proceeded to hit him in the face for no reason. Shennel Rowland told News Five that she will press charges against the officers.
Voice of: Shennel Rowland, Sister
“A police vehicle stopped him and tell he put his hands up, so he come off his bike and put his hands up. Weh deh ask he fi do, he do it. And then four ah deh jump outta the vehicle and one bax ah inna his head and tell ah tek down yuh hand off ah yuh head now; deh search ah and tek deh knuckle and start bax ah inna his face with deh knuckle. Deh ask he weh he name and he tell them Rhyan Leslie and one ah the officer say I name Leslie too, yuh deserve it. Suh deh tell he jump on your bike and go now and he come home and he vex. So, we ask he weh happen and he say nothing and we ask he again bwai weh happen to you because that dah nuh you, you always the smile. He say ma some police beat up me fi nothing just now and I only young. So, my ma get vex and say let’s go dah station. All ah we gone dah station because my breddanuh gangbang. He watch cartoons from and he dah Primary Schoolonly inna Standard Four. So, when we gone dah station the officer tell my ma we have to come back and so we gone dah clinic and the docta tend to ah and give ah pills and thing and we ker ah back dah station the officer wah ask we fi mek we drop the charges; that we nuh have to ker it dah court and a lotta thing that he could just talk to the officer.”
Andrea Polanco
“So, now, did the doctors classify the injuries your brother received?”
Voice of: Shennel Rowland
“Yes, ma’am. Deh say dah harm. And he still the bawl bout swelling ova his eye, underneath his eye. His eye mi red, red, red and his face mi wail up.”
Andrea Polanco
“So, they hit him in his face several times?”
Voice of: Shennel Rowland
“Yes, ma’am.”
Andrea Polanco
“And they didn’t say why they pulled him over; what was going on?”
Voice of: Shennel Rowland
“Nothing. And then we get two witnesses and they say that the police deh beat ah fi nothing. The one deh weh di give the trouble deh nuh harass like that. The police deh cyaa beat up the bwai deh like that. They cyaa tek the gang bwai deh and bax them up like how deh bax up my lee lee bredda.”
