Post-mortem delayed for suspect shot by cops

Closure in the death of Corozal’s Francis Diego is still at least a day away as a post-mortem scheduled for this morning in Belize City was postponed. The reason was the Diego family’s inability to secure transport to the K.H.M.H. to witness the procedure. Diego, a familiar figure to Corozal law enforcement authorities, died on Tuesday after being shot by police. According to official reports, Diego resisted arrest, escaped from custody and was shot twice in the legs, eventually bleeding to death. An account given today to News 5 by family members alleges that bullet wounds to the leg should not result in death, and that in fact Diego had been shot elsewhere. They claim that eight police officers entered the house and while at one point Diego did pick up a machete, he later dropped it. They say that three shots were fired in the house while Diego was being held by two officers. Diego then broke away and ran outside, when three more shots were fired and the fugitive dropped to the ground. According to the family, more shots were discharged while Diego was down, making a total of nine. The post-mortem has been rescheduled for Friday morning. Meanwhile, police are conducting their own internal investigation into the incident.