Beaten twice by cops; this time at the courthouse
Zane Galvez
Zane Galvez is the brother of Chris Galvez, who was allegedly killed by police back in 2010. Zane headed to court this morning for a case he brought against the Gang Suppression Unit. But even before he could appear in Court, in the parking lot he was roughed up and beaten by police. This afternoon, the victim became the accused and Zane was charged with one count of aggravated assault against prison officer, Michael Gladden, with whom he had a confrontation during the melee. The spectacle was witnessed by a woman who was threatened and later detained and is now in fear. News Five’s Jose Sanchez reports.
Jose Sanchez, Reporting
During the August 2011 GSU raid in George Street, Zane Galvez was delivering Heineken inside a yard where the GSU got very physical with the residents. Zane’s arm was fractured during the incident.
Zane Galvez [File: August 30th, 2011]
“I just left from my lawyer and we di have legal action. I di try see how I could pursue it for some criminal charges against them because I believe this is attempt murder because my doctor said that if he had hit me in the head, I would probably not be here right now talking to you.”
And that is exactly what Zane did. He lawyered up and went to the courthouse this morning for his case with the GSU. Galvez never made it to the courtroom. His father, P.U.P. Lake Independence candidate, Martin Galvez said his son was beaten in the parking lot outside the courthouse.
Martin Galvez
Martin Galvez, Father of Zane Galvez
“This morning, a little after nine, he left to the court because he has a lawsuit; he has two lawyers working on lawsuit for him when sometime in August of last year when they beat him up and broke his elbow and stuff. So he planned that he will take legal action this time because he has been harassed by police many times and he never did take actions before. Anyway, he went to court this morning; he left in his car—a black Volkswagen—and I was in the lumber yard selling some lumber when I got a call from a lady. The lady was frantic; crying. And she said, Mister Galvez where are you. I says I was in my lumber yard working; why? She says please go to the Court and check on your son because two police men just beat him up bad. They beat him like a dog and threw him in a vehicle and they handcuffed him and I don’t know what is happening, but not even a dog you should treat like that. His two lawyers are heading over there now to see what is the matter. Another policeman, who knows Zane well, was in the area and he took Zane’s car keys and drove it to the family yard here on Vernon Street. Apparently they want the car at the station too. I don’t know what the car has to do with whatever happened. Probably they don’t have any charge for Zane and they are trying to trump up something–.you know how policemen work; they might try to put a bullet or something in that car if we take it to the station. but my lawyer just called me and says I don’t have to take the car to the station because that has nothing to do with what happened out there.”
Jose Sanchez
“Do you personally believe that your son’s detention this morning has anything to do with the case with the GSU?”
Martin Galvez
“Well I think Zane has a very strong case according to the two lawyers and I do believe that that is their strategy. We have seen it time and time again; police work like that in Belize. They are going to harass you, hold malice—they work on emotions. And they are going to try and make Zane’s life miserable.”
But one person whose life has instantly become miserable is the witness to the beating in front of the courthouse. This woman who did not want to be identified was threatened and detained because she felt the officers were wrong.
Voice of Witness
“The young man was trying to get a parking spot because he was coming to court also. So he was coming to Court and the prison officer he was conducting a traffic move to direct the bus to make it come out, but it did not work like that. So the traffic lady tell the young man that he could reverse from the side and he could get in. The officer look like he didn’t want to cope with the situation, because he had to move out of the way. The young man di reverse fi get in and then the young man ask him fi wah excuse—the young man Galvez—ask he fi wah excuse cause I deh like five feet away from them. I was with my family standing to see how I can solve my situation. So in the process, the officer come up to the young man who was still in the vehicle and the officer tell him you di look fi knock me. The young man said but I ask you for an excuse. In between there and then, it get physical because one of the police intervened and haul the young boy. And then another one come in and haul the young man out of the vehicle. And all I did said to them is that they don’t have to behave like that. Now I experience this here and I got locked up. And why, I object. I already live it with the police—noh all of them bad because you find some good ones and you find some bad ones—but mien at the moment this police no di think because the young man was not doing nothing bad. 
And then I deh five feet away from them with my family, somebody coulda mi get shot or somebody coulda mi get injured because they have gun; we noh have none. And all I said to them why dehn neva conduct this in a betta way. The young man di tell them that he di park because he is going to court. I never see nothing wrong in it and I object to them because dehn mi di mistreat him. That is the reason why I get locked up because I object to the brutality. He get to be assault and I get to be locked up here and I noh assault nobody; I noh went into nobody face; I noh touch nobody; I noh let goh no bad words. But one of them say why dehn noh punch me ina my mouth. Why punch me in my mouth when I know what it is to go into this brutality and they know it.”
Martin Galvez
“If we didn’t act fast enough this morning, probably the judge would have thrown out the case. But thanks to these ladies and people who were out there who saw that they were chancing my son and they called me and I worked on it fast. We got word to the chief justice. If not probably they would have thrown out the case and they would have won it.”
Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.
Zane was offered police bail this evening and is to go to Court on Wednesday to answer to the aggravated assault charge.
If only someone with a smartphone had taken a video of this incident! Or maybe there was a security camera that had a view of the scene of the incident. Otherwise, it will take some time to figure out from witnesses what actually occurred. Anything is possible!
His brother was killed as a drug trafficker and only the family cant see the truth
His lil brother, Zane; was caught dealing with the same murderers of hsi brother. No arreststs.
Political game. All of us know what drug traficking behest, death.
Lil brother seeking murder finds death.
Zane be careful, you are lucky.
its your time.
Sue judas barrow and his no good useless thieving gov . Sue barrow personally for total incompetence this type of thing must stop now this gov. Feel they can do whatever thy want and have to answer to no one well the day of reckoning is near judas near.
ive been beaten by those police. they think and are above the law and justice turns a blind eye when looking into matters like these. it is just a matter of time before the police and the stations get bombed. i know i wanted to do it when i was there and im not that violent. imagine the crazy ones there. u push too much and they will push back. TRUST!
Is this what my poor country Belize has finally become? Have we finally arrived at and accepted heavy handed totalitarianism. In the court of public opinion we may have varying opinions about this man and we may have a lot to say about why he was present at a GSU raid (other than why he said he was there) but it does not take away from the fact that the GSU works without impunity and circumvents our human rights. They are akin to the Gestapo (The political police of Nazi Germany. The Gestapo ruthlessly eliminated opposition to the Nazis within Germany and its occupied territories) and is a necessary component to any totalitarian regime. We need to come to terms with the seriousness of our present situation as today it is Zane Galvez standing up for his rights and being brutalized but tomorrow it may be you. We are living in a country where our rights over time have been slowly taken away by every successive government/dictatorship because I can remember people saying this same thing about our previous rulers (the PUP). The ugly thing is that we are so deeply divided along party lines that we cannot stand together as a people and demand that we are treated with even a shred of human dignity; divide and rule the oldest trick in the book. We owe so much to our masters that we fear if we even try to beg to be treated with the human dignity we deserve we will be cut off from suckling at their teats. We fear them so much that we are contented with being their abused children and the dignity and independence of our adulthood is no longer of any importance to us; but this usually happens when one sells his soul to the devil. I guess we must all just accept our reality for our rights as citizens of this once great country has already been bought and paid for by making a deal with the red and blue two face devil.
“Ah noh care who the !*#% you are. We dah GSU, we da boss!” GSU/Gestapo. My dad was a high ranking police when he retired and he use to always tell me about how corrupt the police force really is and how in the 80’s he personally saw the commissioner at the time on the scene helping the Columbian planes land; food for thought…
Where there is smoke, there’s fire. Come on, kid yourself not, these Galvez boys have that Jesse James mentality.
Is it coincidence that the Galvezs are always in the wrong place at the wrong time? Me thinketh not.
Hearing Stories like this makes me feel like McAfee has a valid point. Then again I know These young men are no “Angels”
Worry but d them Galvez like they are same,I agree are they always in the wrong place at the wrong time,make they tell you from the father, and Schakron, she What they did to their father da cayo. how he died . That still in theirs past and they got more fu pay
WELL… WE ARE IN A CAGE !!!
THEY DO AS THEY LIKE, AND THE ONLY WAY OUT IS FOR US TO GIVE BACK BELIZE TO THE BRITISH …PERIOD!!!
THE BRITISH NEVER DID WITH US AS THEY ARE DOING RIGHT NOW!!!
Uncle Benji know the deal. One minute we cry to have the streets cleaned up and the next minute we cry police brutality, can’t have we cake and eat it too. Every single poster on her know that the Galvez gang are rich kids who play bad man. We all know they all had and have options, this type of bad man I have no patience for, this type does not fit the povert
mold —poor —no option —no job so turn to a life of crime. So not even the human rights advocates can defend this bunch. These are the tough choices we have to make to clean up this place…
Don’t want to stray from the topic but….
ONE WORD….RAZORS!!!!
Have they ever heard about one.. LOL!
i’ve been roughed up by the police force as well. picking up my girl from work one night, i was heading home and was stopped by gsu. because the gsu stopped and questioned us for no reason, my girl started recording the incident with her phone. the gsu informed her that if she doesn’t erase it, they will take teh phone away. now for defending our rights (non-violently) i was thrown into queen street lock up. while there, they searched my pockets, took my phone and $. Aas it turns out, i was never charged with anything and released the very next morning.
is that a form of crime prevention? they found no drugs, no weapons, threatened my girlfriend who was taping the incident, but was still detained and belongings taken.
POLICE HAVE BEEN CORRUPT FOR YEARS!!!!
i believe mr galvez, cuz ive experienced the childish, vengeful mentality of the gsu.
one observation does dark tinted in a car is illegal? how come this guy drives in a city with dark tinted i’m baffled, while i had to tear down mines because at the time i wanted to license my car they told me I can’t because of my tint and it wasn’t dark.
Police must be intelligent enough to know better than to deliver street justice in broad daylight in the courthouse parking lot.
Drastic times calls for drastic measures Belize,”wake up my people”Havn’t you all learn from the Mcafee Saga?
seletar….no they are not…
Uncle Sam the Galvez father died in Belize city at the age of 91 from natural causes. Please get your facts straight before u talk bs.