Corruption: Businesswoman claims she robbed & her nephew extorted by police

There is another very serious complaint against a group of police officers. A Belize City businesswoman who went away for the Easter had to cut her trip short and rush back home because her house had been robbed of some twenty thousand dollars in cash and valuables. To add to her woes, her common-law-husband had been locked up for an entire week for her licensed gun. And the alleged perpetrators, who also extorted money from her family, are members of the police force. But that’s not all, as evidence against the officers turn up the heat on them. Duane Moody spoke to the aggrieved family today.

Duane Moody, Reporting

It’s the story of an Easter vacation gone wrong for Carol James and her common-law-husband, Anthony Broaster. James and Broaster are the proprietors of J.C. Fashions that is on the ground floor of their house on Central American Boulevard. According to them, last Wednesday, some five officers searched the property and arrested Broaster and two others. Broaster says he was detained for almost a week and was charged for several firearm offences.

Voice of: Anthony Broaster, Arrested for Firearm Offences

“I gave them the permission to search. The guys came up; they wanted to search the boutique so I let them in the boutique. At that moment everybody start scattering and I can’t watch everybody till they end up upstairs here. As they come upstairs, I explained to the officer in that room there has my girlfriends licensed firearm. So he said can you open the door before we break it down. So I complied, I opened the door and they went in before me and I showed them where the drawer is. They asked me where is the paper for it. I told them the paper is in the next drawer. The other one get the papers out meanwhile I still outside and they were still searching.”

Elaina Arnold, Justice of the Peace

“When the police got Mister Anthony Broaster hold, he was going in the vehicle back and he said to me, Miss Elaina please hold these bunch of keys for me. When he give it to me it’s a pile of keys. I get the keys, put it in a bag and left it in my house. The next day I left Belize to Lord’s Bank, I dint come back till the Saturday. When I came back the Saturday, his wife came and I put the bunch of keys in her hand; it is about five or six bunches of keys.”

Voice of: Anthony Broaster

“I was locked up for seven days, seven days. Three days after the officer done arrest me and charge me for everything. I get to my girlfriend and the officer from there give me a call. I was the only one arrested and charged for unlicensed firearm, unlicensed ammunition along with some cannabis.”

James had just left for the U.S. on Tuesday, March twenty-sixth to spend the holidays with her family in Los Angeles. But that trip was cut short and she returned on Holy Saturday. She immediately contacted her lawyer to get the matter resolved.

Carol James, Claims Police Corruption

“I flew in back Saturday and I called lawyers and it is a holiday weekend so I didn’t get anybody. But on Tuesday, I got Mister Arnold, I called him and I went in and I paid him. And I decided to go to Queen Street because they were going to take him to court. So I went to Queen Street to get his property and they told me they cannot find it.”

James claims that two of her diamond bracelets and five gold rings were missing from the drawer where her licensed firearm was taken from and that the day’s sales were also missing. It’s a clear example of police corruption, says James, who also claims that the officers first extorted monies from her nephew and friend.

Carol James

“They got this money and I’m gonna report them and so I told him that is the best thing to do; go report them about what had occurred. He went to Raccoon Street Police Station and he told them about the money. After they took my husband and nephew and the guy, they wanted two thousand dollars. So he called Anna one of our friends to go withdraw the money. The police went, met Anna by the bank. The ATM couldn’t give them the two thousand dollars so they only got five hundred. The police kept calling all morning that they wanted the other fifteen hundred dollars. My nephew didn’t give it to them, he went to Raccoon Street Police Station and spoke to Mister Seguro and he instructed Miss Mortis and them to take report from my nephew.  I am very organized; I had everything in a package. The receipt that I bought the gun from Brodies, the receipt that I renewed the gun last month for my birthday; everything they took. They took it because they thought we wouldn’t have anything for the gun, no kind of documents for the gun. They didn’t know that when I go to the states, I take a copy with me.”

An investigation has been launched by the Professional and Standard Branch into the allegations against the officers, who according to James, are from the Special Patrol unit attached to the Belmopan Police Sub-formation.

Carol James

“They confiscate the officer who took the money; they confiscate his cell phone with all the calls he was making for us to give the fifteen hundred dollars. But I am telling you if I didn’t come, they was trying to cover everything up.”

Duane Moody

“But it wasn’t only one officer. There were several others…”

Carol James

“Five officers, five from the special patrol from Belmopan. One officer was good enough. When I flew in on Saturday, he gave the name of all of the officers who were in my house. He said these are the officers who were in my house and they were driving a blue Hilux and they are from special patrol in Belmopan.”

The charges were dropped, but it wasn’t until after numerous requests for the return of her firearm that this afternoon, police handed over the gun and documents to her. But Broaster’s Social Security Card and gold chain as well as other stolen items have not been returned. Duane Moody for News Five.