Investigators Chronicle Deadly Officer-involved Shooting in O.W.
Dyandre Chee
In the wake of the deadly shooting, a series of investigations have commenced, including an internal probe to determine the extent of the infractions committed by the responding officers. The probe is being led by Superintendent Gerald Jones, Deputy Head of the National Crimes Investigation Branch. This afternoon, at the police headquarters in Belmopan, he provided a chronology of events from the report given by the officers involved in the incident.
Gerald Jones
Supt. Gerald Jones, Deputy, HNCIB
“Saturday, 25th March, 2023, about 10:50 p.m., acting upon information received of shots fired on Otro Benque Road in Orange Walk Town, Orange Walk District, police visited the Northern Regional Hospital where one Dyandre Chee, age nineteen years, of Trial Farm Village was observed by police with what appears to be a gunshot wound to the left side of the back and one apparent gunshot wound to the stomach area. Initial investigation revealed that on the given date, about 10:25 p.m., the Quick Response Team comprising of four officers within the Orange Walk District were on routine patrol within the Cinderella Plaza area when their attention was drawn to three motorcycles with five occupants. The police officers went in pursuit of these individuals with the intention of having them to stop. Apparently they did not stopped and they continued within the Orange Walk Town area. What happened thereafter [is that] the police officers met up with these individuals. They put on their revolving lights and tried to stop these individuals again and apparently they did not stop and upon reaching the… area, the supermarket, it was then that the police officers saw these individuals making a u-turn. When the police officers approached these individuals and there was only one motorcycle at that time because they lost sight of two of those motorcycles in that area. The one that was approached by the police did a u-turn and it was then that the police approached the individual, they came out of the vehicle and then the police officers approached both of them and the motorcycle fell to the ground with the individuals. It was then that the police observed that one of the persons that was riding on the motorcycle had a wound, took him to the hospital and he was pronounced dead. Police have since detained a minor and questioned that individual where a statement has been recorded. In respect to the entire investigation, a team of officers led by myself, as well as [others] from the Major Crimes Unit in Belmopan, left en route to Orange Walk to conduct an investigation. We canvassed the entire scene of the incident as to where it started, to the end, and we have found ten .223 expended shells. Eight of them were found within the vicinity of Liberty and Palmar area, and two were found in the supermarket area, alongside on the route two nine millimeter expended shells were also found.”
