A mother speaks out against alleged brutality at Hattieville Police Station
Francelia Gillett
The following story is also about the cops, but this one is about alleged police brutality. Francelia Gillett of Hattieville says that her son, eighteen year old Richard Smith, was picked up by Hattieville Police who proceeded to inflict physical harm on him. Gillett says that the abuse of her son is wrong and that she wants something to be done.
Francelia Gillett, Mother of Richard Smith
“Weh happen is, from last month deh mi fi hold he fi wah minor charge fi grievous harm and I tell he fi guh hand in ih self mek I bail and thing. He say, ‘no mammy because every time I guh dah the station deh beat me up.’ Suh when he hear the incident bout fi he sista he mi gwein back ah ih sista house; police man deh find ah, ker ah, dreg ah dah station. Suh when I di come out I gone dah the station and the Corporal tell me that I cyaa speak to my son suh I tell ah that I di talk to my son fi long time tell ah fi give up yuh self. When I di walk out, wah police man tek ih fist and punch up my son inna ih face. I nuh think that right fi mek deh di beat up my son; dah nuh like my son thief nobody or kill nobody.”
Andrea Polanco
“This all happened at the Hattieville Police Station?”
Francelia Gillett
“Yes ma’am. My son bawl out and say mommy deh di beat me up een yah and when I gone my son face swell up because the police deh punch ah up inna ih face.”
Andrea Polanco
“Did they say anything to him?”
Francelia Gillett
“No, all weh the policeman tell mi, get outta dis station and nuh come back yah.”
“mammy” thinks he is so polite cause he says yes ma’am etc and innocent-but when in police custody-talking big and acting disrespectful.
I don’t like police brutality as a regular occurrence — although I still support the lethal force used on Arthur Gentle and others of that stripe, because they are exceptional threats to the nation, and exceptional measures are justified to eliminate them.
But I’d like to see both sides of this matter investigated fairly before reaching any conclusion about what happened and whether anything wrong was done. There’s probably another side to this story besides Mom’s.
Mothers like this MAKES ME SOOOOO MAD!!!!!!
Thats my lil cuzn… And its sad how the government is running in Belize. Its a lot of cop killers in Belize.. Its crazy to say. I dnt even want to visit my family back home because of the crime rate… Im scared of my own country…begging for a change..stop the violence. police brutality…a cop shot and kill my friend for nothing..rip mattam. And they also kill my bro. Bucko t. Nothing but cop killers. The goverment distributing guns to the youths on the streets…its so sad… . Wat is my poor country coming to. I love Belize. I love my family.. Thats my aunt…and my lil cuzn…it hurts.. Stop the Violence. God please bless my homeland
Darlene Perez straight outta new York city
Somewhere in what that mother is saying is the truth. These boys like to talk back and act big to police. This boy is no saint he was already wanted for grievous harm, not the acftions of a saint. In what way did she approach the police at the station? did she go up there acting bad and cursing them, and demanding her precious boy be set free. I do not condone police brutality, but they also have to do their jobs and if momma has to be told to leave, so be it.
This is my perpective on some parents from an early age their children have to hustle not just for themselves, but to take care of momma and the man momma is speeling with in the house, they have no time to be raised right and just be kids. They learn how to hustle any way possible, so agression and hustling is all they know. The young people are being robbed of their childhood, manhood and future. Things has to change or the country is doomed.
offcourse a mother wants to believe the best about her child but same way dont swae for them and the police need to remember that people are human same way!!
everyone is inocent untill proven guilty ,only in belize you are guilty until proven inocent no matter what the police have no right to beat ah person just because they are the police……