Brandon and Hubert Baptist Allege Constant Police Harassment

Brandon Baptist

Siblings Brandon and Hubert Baptist and two other Belize City residents were released from police custody earlier today, after being detained by police on Wednesday while they were at home on Police Street.  The men told News Five this evening that they were inside their yard when a team of officers from the Gang Suppression Unit descended on their property and rounded them up.  Incidentally, December sixteenth was also the birthday of their deceased brother Aaron Baptist who had been killed last year in Burrell Boom Village.  According to the brothers, they were told that police intelligence suggested that they were planning a retaliatory shooting that community and so they were taken into custody to prevent a reprisal.  But they are also alleging constant harassment from the police department.  Here’s what the livid Baptist brothers shared with us this evening.

Brandon Baptist, Police Street Resident

“I come outta jail wid wahn mindset fi change my life and thing, right, but pan di end ah di day di police dehn noh di help me bredda.  Dehn di help bring me down more because dehn di cohn and di harass and di harass and di harass pan nada, yoh geh di sense.  Dehn tell we one thing, no problem no fi deh da back deh, no problem di happen da back deh, yoh undastand me, and dehn still di cohn cohn bother we.  We tyad ah dat, yoh geh di sense.  Every time unu di cohn da fi sohnting else.  Unu noh know weh unu di ker we da station fa, lock we down pan nada, yo undastand, unu di bawl pan social distance and all kinda thing and pan di end unu still di ker we da piss house fi nothing, mongst lotta people.  We noh who got disease, we noh know who sick up eena dehn spot deh and pan di end ah di day dehn noh got no charge fi we.  Dehn just send we back out, just release we afta dat.  My bwai we tyad ah dat bredda, di hold we and di hold we pan nada and then from deh, release we pan nada, yoh geh di sense.  We noh di do nothing out ya mi bredda.  Unu leff we lone G.  I done tell Chester [Williams] weh di go ahn yoh know.  Me and Chester had wahn good talk and I mek da man know, me noh into no problem mi bredda, yoh get di sense.”