Police officers fined for beating detainee

Meanwhile, two other police officers have been fined, in a case where they beat a man so badly, his spleen had to be removed. In May 2005, twenty-two year old Caye Caulker resident Luis Alcoser got into a confrontation with police constables Ricardo Cowo and John Mas. The argument came to blows and ended with Alcoser being physically subdued and taken to the police station. Witnesses would later testify that while in custody, Alcoser was beaten again. Another police officer would later find the young man in a pool of his own blood on the floor. Official investigations resulted in both officers being charged with dangerous harm. But during trial earlier this week, the accused men opted to plea guilty to grievous harm in the case of Cowo while Mas pled guilty to harm. This morning Justice Troadio Gonzalez handed down his sentence to the duo: fines. Cowo was ordered to pay four thousand dollars by the end of February or in default, spend three years in jail. Mas is to pay five thousand dollars by December. Tonight News Five understands that the argument between Cowo and Alcoser began because the victim called the police officer “Cobo” … a slang term used to describe a bum. Both Mas and Cowo are no longer members of the Belize Police Department.