San Pedro man alleges police brutality…

Police in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye are being accused of using excessive force in making an arrest. Thirty-eight year old Calvin Young visited our studios this morning with a police medico-legal form that certifies he received injuries classified as wounding. Young gave us his story and showed us the bruises on his legs, back, head, and arm.

Calvin Young, Alleges Police Brutality
“On Monday evening I was at my home. I was doing laundry on Puffer Street in San Pedro and they came and they said that they wanted to come into my property. I said do you guys have a warrant to come in. They said they don’t need no warrant and he kicked my gate down and he come in. I had my two dogs. He said they were gonna shot my dog if I didn’t tie him. They come in and I tie my dog and he was like ok, let’s go in. And I’m like I really don’t want you to search my place because you don’t have a warrant and he grabbed me by the front of my shirt and pulled me in the house. So I’m like well, fine, you want to search, go ahead and search. Anyway the man said we are going to take you to the station, we’re taking you to the station. I’m like, fine. He said secure your house and we will go to the station. They never handcuffed me. I went willingly. I got on the cart went to the station. Got there and they said they were gonna book me for possession of zero point one grams.”

Marion Ali
“And this was allegedly found where?”

Calvin Young
“Allegedly at my home but they never showed me anything.”

Marion Ali
“They, how many officers?”

Calvin Young
“Three officers.”

“Well at the station the lady Mrs. Smith, W.P.C. Smith, she took the statement from them saying that they were gonna charge me and detain me. Fine. She left and within the space of time she left they put handcuffs on me and he bust my head three spots, Martinez, with a club, he had a little club in his hand. The other officer he kept his gun in his hand while I was at the station. You had three officers. When the two of them attacked me I was at the back area, and when I saw the blood because then I had my hand handcuffed and he kept hitting me and I keep putting my hand up and even an animal, the first instinct when they get beat is to try and get away from that person so I ran to the front where another plain clothes officer was, Usher, and I told him please, please let these guys stop beat me and I think he holds more rank and he said don’t do that, to quit hitting me. And that was when they stopped and they put me back in the cell with my handcuffs on. I was there bleeding. The guys next door they said that I passed out, I fell for a while on the floor.”

Marion Ali
“Which guy next door?”

Calvin Young
“The one that gave the statement.”

Marion Ali
“Was he a prisoner?”

Calvin Young
“Yes, he was a prisoner. A prisoner next door gave a statement to the C.I.B office about the abuse that he saw, about the police brutality and what was my reaction pertaining to what they were doing.”

Marion Ali
“Can you locate this guy? Do you know him?”

Calvin Young
“I don’t know him. I just met him. I know he’s from Caye Caulker.”

“They said that I resisted arrest and it’s like why would I go with you, I leave my house voluntary; you didn’t have to put no cuffs on me. I went there and then when I reach there I will resist arrest; I must be stupid.”

Young says his neighbours in the San Juan area can also attest to police harassment of him at his home. Young has been charged with possession of a tenth of a gram of marijuana, resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer, and uttering indecent words—acts he says he never committed.