A King freed! Police officer drops charges against Minister Mark
And much further north, the remnants of a political storm had expectedly fizzled. There was no need for a forecaster to predict that Minister of State Mark King would be free of charges levied against him earlier this year. In the Corozal Magistrate Court this morning, charges of aggravated assault, threatening words and disorderly conduct were dismissed against King. In a highly publicized incident, King was accused of assaulting a cop in a brawl that started at the Princess Casino at the northern border on February fifth, 2013. Video images captured the incident, but this morning the case came crashing down. News Five’s Jose Sanchez revisits that story.
Jose Sanchez, Reporting [File: February 13th, 2013]
As the loud group is ejected from the Princess Casino, a cell phone video catches the uproar of the Minister of State Mark King. One of the officers asks one of the citizens to talk to King. A woman then pulls on the Minister’s shirt as he is in a scuffle with a Police Constable. King raises his hand. Someone yells that they are messing with the wrong person. Two women then help King into the back of a police truck. The second cell phone video shows King standing on the left of the police station in a plaid shirt. He yells out that Diego Witz Junior, whose back is to the cell phone camera, needs to know what are his charges. His friends shout that there are no charges. Then King tells the officers that they don’t need to worry about John, assuming that to be the Minister of National Security, but they need to worry about the Minister of Health Pablo Marin who lives in Corozal.
Mark King, Minister of State
“Unu no have to worry about John, unu need fi worry about Pablo. He will go to Pablo’s house.”
King goes onto yell that the officers violated the law.
Mark King
“The police officers committed a bunch of violators tonight and mistreated me including the instructing officer. But it was… Go to, go to my vehicle and go to Pablo Marin’s house right now and tell him Mark King is here and we’re in an urgent situation.”
Both officers continue to stand with somewhat lowered heads. Then Diego Witz becomes upset when the officers frisk him but during the yelling from King and his party, the police officers appear quite calm as they lean on the table with their left arm. The video does not show any officer violating King’s rights. At Thursday’s House Meeting I attempted to ask King about the inconsistencies with his statement but he jumped in his vehicle and left the capital without saying a word.
The Prime Minister spoke in his defense on February sixth after suspending without pay from his Minister of State duties for three months.
King has received his second chance now that the police officer Ramos, the complainant, has decided to withdraw from the case. All three charges against King were dismissed this morning in the Corozal Magistrate Court before Magistrate Clive Lino. Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.
This is so typical of this corrupt pm and gov. After committing their crimes this pm allows all his ministers to commit their crimes and hen go free he is in so deep that he might as well just come out and tell the belizean people that he and his go. Will do as they please and continue to commit theft and. Murder without any consequences.
Did you expect anything else? UDP run things and they will let you know it in a heart beat!!
No surprise there…just as expected…he is a minister…ministers are above the law here in Belize…didnt expect anything to come out of this…typical pull string government have here who most definitely has the police department in their back pockets..
This is for you to see that the system is easily manipulated. clearly show how they are corrupted. now he owes the officer and now the officers do corrupted stuff cause they know a minister have them back. that is why belize will never be safe……
Video footage is shown as the cameraman is behind the counter in the police station, in other words, it looks like a police officer is filming the incident.
its funny how when regular citizens who feel they are being bullied and brutalized by police, try to pull out their cell phone camera to take pictures, police officers will confiscate the camera, delete all video and pictures, and maybe after that you can get your device back.
But in this case, its ok for police officers to have a cameraman. what a country we live in!!
Surprise, Surprise!!!! The MINISTER is set free!
This is the reason why Belize is in the donjon it is in today. Policemen are having amnesia too often; politician putting constitutes before the interest of Belize, a prime minister who never knows. Belize, my humble plea raise up before we hit rock bottom of being recognize internationally as a fail state. We are already recognize internationally as a country which cannot control its ship registry and is only reacting because we are force to. It won’t stop until we put a politician in jail.
my kid told me that officers visited his class and they ask who wants to be police a few did raise their hands and my kid me if that’s o.k, my best response was no son, better find another profession because being a police is the worst profession or the disgrace job you’ll have cause it has no pride. you’ll be corrupted by the system and later be a shame of the society. so he said o.k rather be a doctor and I agreed with him.
what a shame either the minister is intimidating the cops, or their boss is pressuring them not call the case a quit, which either is wrong, if a police wants to be a professional either keep their heads up or bow it down as it seem on this one.
hopefully this king won’t last for long cause general election is coming soon just like the hurricanes.
For a government that won thier first of two elections on the promise that their administration would fight and punish curruption, they have certainly taken a different approach since. Abnormal ministers can take land, give it to their family and fellow cronies, have the land taken back and be compensated at full market value. This government allows our natural resources to be depleted and abused while members of these abnormal ministers families benefit financially and go unpunished. Companies are seized and social services are ignored. Can we really be surprised that Minister Mark King has avoided police prosecution? How can we when so many others have gotten away with so much without punishment? And what can we expect to improve while our Prime Minister refuses to take a stand against his own party members? There is a saying that goes, ‘da fool di talk but da nu fool di listen’. I pray that this saying proves itself true in the next election which cannot get here soon enough.
Don’t understand why the Crown prosecutor didn’t proceed with the case. The cops should have backed off and the Crown prosecutor should have followed through. In a civilized modern system of justice this would be normal.
I’m Ok with this move. Yeah, stuff happened, but really, the benefit to all is more beneficial to everyone involved.