Lawyer and clients allege police brutality…

The Police Department is also under fire tonight from another Belize City resident. Nineteen year old Jaime Ramirez, an employee of the Riverside Tavern, along with his girlfriend, Claudia Orellano and their attorney, Audrey Matura Shepherd, called a news conference to say what happened yesterday evening and what they plan to do about it.

Jaime Ramirez, Alleges Police Brutality
“Almost five o’clock right and she tell me she gwine dah school because it done late. So I tell ah, goh den and she move and as she cross di street wah police vehicle just stop front ah me and di police just come out and tell me mek I goh in. I refuse fi go in, so they put me in and I come out back. And when I come out back, di next police weh mi deh dah front come out and grab me and twist my hand and put me pan di ground and shove me inna di car. He start to beat me inside ah the vehicle. Like three times he knock me inna my eye and he seh as I reach police station he wah deal with mi more, “ih noh wah be nothin’ nice.” And as I reach deh, dah noh he ker me inside, dah the driver and I mi di watch ah and he tell mi noh watch ah and he grab me and choke me, start to choke me.”

Marion Ali
“Jaime the police are saying that they arrested you because there were reports that you were fighting with your girlfriend. How do you respond?”

Jaime Ramirez
“I was not fighting with her, I was just talking with her.”

Claudia Orellano, Alleges Police Brutality
“He neva mi di quarrel with me, he neva mi di fight with me; we just mi di talk. I see di police vehicle di come, but I neva know deh mi di come towards he. I cross the street and at the same time I cross the street di police cross the street too with their jeep. Soh when I turn round, I see them di beat he. He have he and they di fight ah.”

Audrey Matura Shepherd, Dir., Legal Advice & Service Center
“I would give them all the options that they have and let them decide for themselves, right. The options would be to go to their constitutional case, which is very important, to also get compensation, damages, for whatever injuries they got and whatever pain and suffering they suffered, and also to ensure that their charges—well we could go to trial, we don’t even want to withdraw it because they will win this case. I can’t see how they will lose it. So those would be their three options and they could have all or whatever choice out of those.”