B.D.F. soldier arrested after shooting death
Staying up all night to bring in the tenth is a time honoured Belizean tradition…but dawn on St. George’s Caye Day is supposed to bring echoes of patriotism, not the sound of deadly gunfire. Around five on Wednesday morning an allegedly rowdy young man attempted to run from a law enforcement patrol not far from the Queen Street Police Station. He didn’t get far. News 5’s Stephen Ferguson was the first cameraman on the scene, while reporter Jacqueline Woods picked up the story this morning.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Twenty-one year old Aaron Mariano was unarmed and running away from the police and a soldier when B.D.F. Private, twenty-one year old Giovanni Gutierrez aimed his M?16 rifle at Mariano and shot him in the back of his head.
As Mariano’s lifeless body lay in the parking area of Beto’s Mini Mart on New Road, an angry crowd gathered at the scene to express their outrage about what had happened. According to police, the young man was wanted after he allegedly assaulted a policeman early Wednesday morning at a club on Queen Street. Later that morning around five-thirty, police say Mariano was seen walking on Queen Street, and that is when they decided to detain him. But the suspect made a run for it. According to Police Press Officer, G. Michael Reid the officer in charge of the Queen Street station told the police and soldier to let Mariano go. Why they disobey that order is not clear.
G. Michael Reid, Police Press Officer
“We know the commander, after issuing the order to detain the man and seeing the man running away, did issue another order to just stand down and let him go. Obviously, the officer and the B.D.F. did not hear this. There was a special constable and the B.D.F. soldier who continued to pursue this gentleman and at that point is when the guy was shot.”
Michael Bucknor, Eyewitness
“There suppose to be justice in this matter, because you kill innocent people just because they came from somewhere. But not all of them is like other folks.”
Michael Bucknor was standing at the corner of Queen Street and New Road. He says he heard a police officer tell the B.D.F. soldier and the policeman to let the man go, but they continued to chase him. Bucknor says he will never forget what he saw next.
Michael Bucknor
“He was just running, but before he got to the bridge, there were running in a circle. The young man was running and the B.D.F. and the police in a circle. And eventually the young man got away and jumped the fence, and that’s when the police officer told him, “Go ahead and kill the madafocker, shoot him.” That is the exact word the police officer instruct the B.D.F. to do and he did what he was told to do.”
Jacqueline Woods
“Did you see the B.D.F. soldier aim his gun?”
Michael Bucknor
“Yes. He was right there by the gate and he did like this…one shot, I heard bam! and that is when I heard the shot. He left the guy right there, but I thought the guy had gotten away from him. When he went back to the station, he went to the station, he came back and that is when I confront him and said, “Sir, young man does that gun has live bullets or blanks?” He said, “Sir it’s live.” Then I told him, “You have no consideration, you killed a man for nothing, an innocent person for nothing, just because he ran away from you.”
The Belize Defence Force is not saying much about the incident, only that Private Gutierrez was on duty and whatever he did, they believe he was acting in the line of duty and they would not like to interfere with the police investigation.
Several years ago the B.D.F. started supporting the police with their patrols to maintain law and order and it has become quite common to see armed B.D.F. soldiers on the streets with police.
G. Michael Reid
“It’s unfortunate that something like this should occur, because basically the police and the B.D.F. have been working together for the better part of twenty years. We know that somewhere in the early 80s actually, they began doing joint operations and there have not been many incidents. So we would hope that this one particular incident does not in fact cast a shadow on an entire policy that has worked for the better interests of the people of Belize.”
“Certainly an investigation is underway. It was launched immediately. The Commissioner has expressed his condolences and his regret that something like this would have occurred. It is not good for community police relations, and at this point we are trying the very best we can to forge a good relationship with the community.”
Today, Private Gutierrez, who is from Punta Gorda, was charged with manslaughter. The Mariano family believes the soldier should have been charged with murder.
Matthias Mariano, Father of the deceased
“I think he should have been charged with murder. The reason why I am saying that is because when I visited the morgue…I didn’t see him on the ground on the day of the shooting, but what appears to me is that he got shot from behind. And even the law tells you, and even some of the laws that govern a soldier tell you that if a man turns his back there is no need to shoot him because he is defenceless. So I think he should be charged for murder.”
Matthias Mariano says he is heartbroken over the way his son died. But he does not want revenge, only justice to be served.
Matthias Mariano
” What has been done has already been done, we cannot undo that. One of the thing is we just want to see justice done. It’s like you have people asking me if I’m angry, if I’m mad. I treat it as an incident, yes it’s unlawful, you could say wilful if you want to say wilful murder, stuff like that. But one of the thing is I’m not angry; I’m saddened, because he is like the pride of my life. So I am not looking for revenge, I just want to see justice served to the people that end the life of my son.”
Jacqueline Woods for News 5.
The rules of engagement for law enforcement officials say that deadly force is justified only when an officer feels that his or her life is in danger.
In a sidebar to this story, we have been asked to point out that the owner of the property where the killing took place had nothing to do with the shooting, nor with any harbouring of the shooter.
