ComPol Jeffries says accident victim cut in front of the police vehicle
Jamil Wade
On Monday night we heard from Paula Wade, the mother of nine year old Jamil Wade, a standard two student of Calvary Temple Primary who was knocked down by a police car last Friday. The child was going to the market when he was hit. The impact caused him injuries to his face, head and shoulder and has left his mother with mounting medical bills. She said she wanted the officer who was driving the police vehicle to foot the bill but that may not happen. That’s because while police do not deny that the incident happened, they say it was the little boy’s fault. Today Police Commissioner Crispin Jeffries told News Five that Jamil cut right in the path of oncoming traffic and the police vehicle. Whether there are eyewitness reports to substantiate that claim will only be known at the end of the investigation.
Yeah Mr. Jefferies, not even the kids are innocent when the Police Department is being accused. Its called driving without due care and attention and we must always keep an eye out for kids especially when driving in the city.
Whenever someone is involved in an accident of this nature, he/she is charged with driving without due care and attention wether the driver was right or not. It is the moral obligation of the driver assist this family.
Driving without due care and attention, that would be the charge for an ordinary citizen, but ,like how its the police its OK because the young man was at fault is that what the commish is saying? well lets send all the criminals to the police training school. (ooppps sorry that’s already done bc their the biggest crooks) . (rats can’t be trusted to guard the rat trap)
Jefferies need fi retire.
I agree with Sandra,if it was any any other ordinary citizen whatevever be d case would be prosecuted and charged for driving without due care and attention. , but because its one of their own nothing will be done and all kinds of excuses will be given. If it would only happen to a Minister’s child or another high ranking person’s child then yes action will be taken. As usual it is always the people down there who take the licking as they would say. And I am of the believe that yes indeed we live in a free country cause we do what we do, kill, rob, rape, or whatever u feel like doing and you get away with it. Sometimes it even makes it feel embarrasing at our own system. When will Belize move on????
Even if the child cut in front of the vehicle as is being claimed, the Police Department should still be responsible for that family medical bills. Belize still dont respect traffic rules, so riding on a bicycle without due care is nothing out of the norm for our citizens. Compensate the family and let your department take responsibility for this unfortunate action Commisioner of Police, also make sure the officer apologize to that young boy. My advice to the mother is to get a good legal lawyer and sue if the Police Department don’t want to take some kind of responsibility.
What I do not like about the police department whenever they are being interviewed they make statements as if they were on the scene and they saw everything; hearsay cannot go to court. As for the Commissioner of Police he should avoid making statements that makes him sound as if he is condoning bad behaviour and criminal acts. Which by the way he is. As everyone else in this forum stated the charge should be ‘driving without due care and attention’ even if the child was at fault. Leave it up to a Court of Law to say otherwise, not those police tribunal that would find him not guilty anyway. It is about time that the police department start taking responsibility for their actions. They shoot an innocent man and has maimed him, they hit a child riding a bicycle and all they do is call it an unfortunate accident.
Jerrfries you need to man up to this one and pay the medical bills and compensate the family for their hardships caused by your department! Now how the heck can this child be at fault and there was an adult driving the vehicle? We all know how Belizeans drive: yielding to pedestrians appears to be a suggestion and not the law or is it?
If I was that child’s mother I would file a claim in court.
Shame on the Police. What about Driving without due care and attention? These guys should uphold the law but they are above the law. They never do anything wrong. How can people ever trust them?
Surely the officer should pay for bike repair or for a new bike and medical bills. However, I have to say that I do not think young children should be allowed to walk/ride around the streets unaccompanied by adults. You should not be speeding in the streets, but at the same time, sometimes young children are not responsible enough to heed traffic, and it is dangerous. Example – I was driving by BTL park once and these children were playing with a ball. I had just crossed the speed bump, so I was not going fast. The ball rolled into the street and one of the children ran to get it without even looking. I had to swerve to avoid him even though I was not going fast. So many things could have gone wrong if it were another driver. For this same reason I did not allow my children to walk/play on the streets alone until they were teenagers, and even then I did not know if it was enough. I have seen children make a game of running back and forth in front of cars dodging traffic. Sometimes the situation cannot be helped and the driver is not completely at fault. I am not saying this child is at fault. The officer should help with medical expenses and with a new bike. But really, parents, let’s be more responsible and not allow these dangerous situations to occur in the first place.
So sick of the corrupted police Department. Take responsibility and follow the law. Law enforcers should not be exempted from the law, it was a child and it is the driver’s responsibilty to be vigilant of children on the streets and to make sure you are following the speed limits . I know drivers speed in the city and don’t care. Pedestrians have the right of ay , not the other way around. Be realistic!
Just another example of Police lawlessness and corruption. They never investigate their own, and few, if any ever end up on criminal charges!
Jeffries should be made to resign, so should the Security Minister, and the Police Force needs a complete ‘Spring Clean’. If need be, request a team from the US or UK to head it, better still from both countries.
Keep law & order away from politics – but never in Belize, as the political leaders are all Lawyers anyway, and it’s in their best interests for the crime rates to be so high, in order for them to get even richer!
Politics is greed, hiding behind the thin mask of morality.
It’s no longer a case of God save Belize, more like God, please help Belize!
i think the police should be fully responsible for their action. They need alot of training that they are lock of. They always drive like they own the streets. Paula need to go after them to make sure she get all her bills paid. The police are worst than the criminals them self an that officer that knock down the kid is a coward blaming a kid for what he does .
So what happened to warning shots that police used to fire, a gun shot in the windshield, first i used to be afraid of walking around and get hit accidentally by criminals, but now im afraid of driving my car and get hit by the police(There is a lot of car out there that looks like mine please don’t kill us)SERIOUSLY
Mr. Jeffries think he is judge dred, in our country i think we should be more afraid of the police than the criminals.
Send them TO Dr. HOy. . . lol !!!!
I agree with esteban, I have been driving for the past 50 years and I can say that not only children but adults ride bycycles carelessly, there were two times that I almost knoocked down a man when suddelny he swerve on his bike to cross the road without looking back and it happen with children too, even pedestrains, sometimes they cross with out looking.Most of the times drivers get the blame when actually it the other side that is at fault.
LET THE POLICE OFFICERS TAKE CARE OF ALL HOSPITAL EXPENSES!!! THAT’S WHAT SHOULD BE THE OUTCOME OF ANY SITUATION SUCH AS THIS!!