Is a Drug War on Ambergris Caye in the Offing?
In responding to an allegation by Christian Espat who claims that he was physically abused by officers while in police custody last week, ComPol Williams said he is unaware of Espat’s assertion. We also asked the Commissioner of Police whether the deadly incident on Monday is the beginning of a drug war on the island. Here’s how he responded to our questions.
Isani Cayetano
“One of the allegations he has made, however, is that he was recently in police custody where he claims that he was brutalized, that he was the victim of abuse at the hands of police officers.”
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
Chester Wiliams
“Well, I said that to the media yesterday in the interview that I gave, that he was in police custody up until Thursday of last week and as much as yes, we would have wanted to keep him longer, just like we’d like to keep other persons who we believe are known to commit these types of crimes in custody longer than necessary, we just cannot and we are not going to run afoul of persons’ constitutional rights. And so, when his time was up he was released, again, on the request of attorneys who represented him. And in terms of him being brutalized by the police whilst in custody, I am not aware of that. If it is that he is saying that he was brutalized, then come and make a report to PSB and we’ll look at it.”
Isani Cayetano
“ComPol, do you believe that perhaps this is the beginnings of an all-out drug war on the island, given the fact that there has been an increase in the number of wet drops seen around Ambergris Caye?”
Chester Williams
“No, we don’t foresee that to be the case and I can tell you that we will continue to remain vigilant on the island. We still maintain a very strong presence on San Pedro and at the current moment, we have increased our number of officers on the island as we continue our search for Espat and Brown. That is going to remain indefinite and, again, based on what we are seeing in this investigation, we do not foresee that it is going to be a longstanding war between the different factions. No.”
