A police officer is tonight facing heavy public scrutiny after he kicked and hit a man over the head with his service weapon this weekend in San Pedro. The entire incident was captured on camera by a bystander. The officer identified as Devon Makin is said to be the son of a police officer and a close associate of the Commissioner of Police. Makin took to social media following public the backlash to say, “everybody knows me, I am a cool person but don’t get me the next side. Police got shot the other day and nobody said anything. Another mother cried; another son buried. I am sorry, I will do my job the way I think it is best for me to stay safe. Let them say whatever they want to say.” Police are yet to issue an official report on what preceded the events shown in the clip, and what consequences the officer will face, if any. Makin is also heard in the video commanding the individual with the camera not to video him. Contrary to Makin’s command, the Commissioner of Police has stated that it is not a crime to video record a police officer in the conduct of their duties. We will continue to follow this story.
Month: July 2024
Daring Rescue of Canadian Couple Stranded in Flooded River
On Saturday afternoon, a Canadian couple was enjoying a day swimming at the popular Rio On Pools in Mountain Pine Ridge when the river started to rise suddenly. They found themselves stranded on a rock in the middle of the turbulent body of water. They were stranded for almost five hours, well into the night, until they were finally brought back to dry land by a multi-agency team. Among the team of responders were members of the Belize Institute of Search and Rescue Training (BISART), the Spanish Lookout Fire Rescue E.M.S., the Belize Defense Force, residents of San Antonio Village and the National Fire Service. According to Wendy Garcia, the Director of BISART, this was the most technical operation they have ever undertaken. It lasted several hours with little to no margin for errors.
Wendy Garcia, Director, BISART
“On Saturday I received a call from a colleague of mine, a first one from a guy in Monkey Bay and the second one from the Spanish Lookout Rescue Community. So, I got the call about two persons that were stranded at the Rio Hon Pools in the Mountain Pine Ridge area. So, we responded to that incident later on that evening. This rescue was a very technical one as you have seen on videos and pictures the water levels were up and the currants were strong. These were the factors that had to be taken into consideration, no room for errors. However, when we go their we combined with the guys on the ground, the Spanish Lookout E.M.S., also the B.D.F. and the Forestry guys on the ground. In order to pull of this rescue several things had to be done. We had to go to the drawing board and go with some of the ropes and necessary rigs to maneuver down the rapids where the patients were. So, what we did, we set up a line across the river and we used that rope to access them down stream. This is why we train, we train a lot, every day, every week, every time we run different programs for different agencies in the country and the community. At the end of the day once you train and got the skills. This was one of the most technical rescues we have ever done so far because of the challenges we had. For this the main thing is not to get in these positions. You want to update yourself on the weather condition, know what is going on the river, where you are going to swim. Information, prevention is better than getting yourself in this situation. Follow the weather, see what it is doing, where you are going and if it is prone to flashfloods.”
Rescue Teams Risked Their Lives to Save Couple
We also heard from Orvin Rudon, the team leader at the National Fire Service Rescue Team. Rudon explained that when his team arrived on the scene, BISART and the Spanish Lookout E.M.S. were already in action. Rudon thanked the various agencies for their quick response and the courage displayed in risking their lives to save others.
Orvin Rudon, Team Leader, National Fire Service Rescue Team
“I think they were just like regular other people going to visit the pools and standing on the rocks. The only thing I can think about is there was heavy rains further up in the mountains and all the water came together and that was the main path of the water flow and the water just rose suddenly on them and they realized they couldn’t get out because of the rapid flow. If they would have stepped in that water, they would have been surely swept away down further the stream. Being that it was late in the evening and the weather was off and on with the rain as all the teams were trying to assist getting these people out. Nightfall met us in the dark and it was challenging with the darkness, but all the team worked together to get them out safely and that was the main focus on the rescue.”
Paul Lopez
“How long did it take to get them out?”
Orvin Rudon
“From the moment we get the call somewhere around four p.m., I think the rescue was completed about ten minutes to nine somewhere there about. So, they were standing on that rock for a few hours before being rescued. From the Belize National Fire Service and seeing that I am responsible for the National Fire Service Rescue Team I would like to thank the different other rescue teams who came out and responded quickly to the call, Spanish Lookout Fire and Rescue Team, BISART Rescue Team, and San Antonio Rescue Team, the B.D.F. officers that responded as well.”
Hurricanes are Getting Worse and the Caribbean Must Adapt
The Caribbean is two months into the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season and one major storm has already swept through the region. Hurricane Beryl broke records by being the earliest recorded major storm to form in June, causing widespread destruction across the Caribbean. The severity of this storm is attributed to climate change, as it developed faster and earlier in the year than storms of a similar nature. Today, News Five’s Britney Gordon sat down with a few climate change experts to learn why this phenomenon is occurring and how climate change impacts the way Caribbean countries must adapt to hurricane preparedness. Here’s that story.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Every day, the livelihoods of millions of people across the Caribbean are threatened by climate change. Whether in the tourism sector, or the fisherfolks out at sea, the loss of flora and fauna due to global warming has an impact on everyone in the region. However, these impacts are becoming more dangerous as the Earth continues to warm. Hurricanes are becoming more intense, droughts more severe, and those with little to no means of survival are much more vulnerable to these threats. Doctor Colin Young, Executive Director of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Center, explains how the climate is affecting the formation of storms.
Dr. Colin Young, Executive Director, CCCCC
“The same way the world is warming up in terms on land from greenhouse gases. These are your carbon dioxide and methane and other gases that trap the heat that the ocean is also absorbing the heat. And the warmer the ocean gets, the more likely it is that when hurricanes form, that they get stronger quicker. And so the intensity. Is the issue that you saw with burial. And why is this scary? It’s scary because it gives very little time for people to get ready and for the authorities to warn persons to either move out of the part of the stop of the storm or to do the preparations that that you need.”
Michael Taylor, Director, Climate Studies, Mona
“What we don’t have the greatest of science to do right now is predict the rapid intensification, as you have said, so it’s not that we didn’t get a warning that there would be a hurricane, but the amount of time to prepare for this severity of the hurricane now is reduced, and that has a significant impact because it means, you know, the preparations you’d have been doing for a tropical storm or a tropical depression suddenly have to become preparations overnight for a major hurricane.”
“The Caribbean is at the frontline of the war on climate change. Our people are suffering the damages and we’re paying in lives and livelihoods from these hurricanes.”
“Things that we call, used to call urgent, are no longer urgent. There are immediate needs, you know, so things like, okay, we need to mitigate. So we need to decrease the greenhouse gas emissions so that we can keep the future temperature to one point five or, you know, two degrees. That’s no longer something that’s urgent that we should do. We have to do it. And so we. You know, people like me and you, citizens, we have to pay attention now to the cops, and look at what the countries are pledging in terms of their greenhouse gas emissions, including our own countries, and say, boy, we have to do more.”
Britney Gordon for News Five.
PM Briceño Explains Amended Fiscal Incentives Act
A proposed amendment to the Fiscal Incentives Act was tabled in the House of Representatives by Prime Minister John Briceño during the last sitting. The recommended changes seek to replace the definitive agreements that were previously entered into by the Government of Belize and developers of mega projects, such as the Port of Magical Belize. The incentive is offered for investments that exceed five hundred million Belize dollars. According to P.M. Briceño, the piece of legislation that will now become the revised Fiscal Incentives Act will be universal in its scope.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“There is one law that would cover everybody, as opposed to having, you know, for instance we had the Stake Bank law. Stake Bank has a definitive agreement which is almost the same as this one that the U.D.P. was presenting and then trying to make, I don’t know, I still can’t understand what is the issue with our government when it comes to the definitive agreement. We did nothing, we did not accept it. We said, you know, that it’s best that we try to come up with something different and we believe that this was the answer.”
Isani Cayetano
“Here’s a follow-up question. Two hundred and fifty million U.S. dollars is the equivalent of a half a billion Belize dollars. So the natural question is, do we have any project of that scale, of that magnitude, that’s being undertaken in Belize, or perhaps if two hundred and fifty million dollars seems a bit too high a threshold?”
Prime Minster John Briceño
“This is the idea because you only want to do it for these large scale investments that are needed. When you look at the issue of a cruise port, any cruise port that is built in Belize is going to cost over two hundred and fifty million U.S. dollars and the big part of it is because of the dredging that has to be done. We have the Four Seasons, right now. They are building the Four Seasons in Caye Chapel and that investment is going to be about four hundred million U.S. dollars they’ll be investing in there. And it’s not only the hotel, but several very upscale homes that are being built for different people that have already purchased their pieces of land, their parcel of land to be able to develop.”
P.M. Briceño Says Ninety Days for S.O.E. is Necessary
Also coming out of the last house meeting is an extension of the present state of emergency which has been prolonged to three months of jail time for persons who were detained several weeks ago. According to P.M. Briceño, the extension allows for additional time for mediation and investigation, as well as a warning for others who may be considering gang violence.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“They feel that they need ninety days for several reasons, but the most important one is that it gives the police more time to investigate some of the murders that have taken place. Secondly, it gives more time for the people with mediation to be able to talk to them and to calm them down, trying to find, see if you can find some kind of peace amongst them. And thirdly, we feel that it can also act as a deterrent to say that, I noh wahn dehn hold me up fi ninety days, so ah might as well try to walk a straight line as I possibly can. So, like I tell everybody, we believe and we know for a fact that we don’t have all the answers. So for those our critics, give me a solution.”
“Osmond is a man of the soil.” – P.M. John Briceño
The People’s United Party is certain of a victory in Toledo East. That’s according to Prime Minister John Briceño, who is yet to hit the ground in that constituency to lend support to P.U.P. standard bearer, Doctor Osmond Martinez. As we’ve reported, the by-election is set for July seventeenth and three candidates from separate political parties have been officially nominated, including Wil Maheia for the People’s National Party, Dennis Williams for the United Democratic Party and Doctor Martinez for the ruling P.U.P.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I have every confidence in Osmond Martinez. Osmond is a man of the soil. You know, when he was, when I met him and we would go on trips and he would tell me about how he grew up, you know. That’s a story that everybody should aspire or look at and say I’d love if I can be like him. And now, here he is now offering himself to the people where he grew up from, to say, “You know what, I want to be a part of you, I want to see how I can serve you to be able to bring more opportunities for the people. So it’s a success story and a story that Belizeans should look at and say, well, if he can do it then I can do it. And it’s all hard work, determination, making sure that I can get it done.”
Nipsey’s Ten Pups Perished Without Nursing Mother
Tonight, we have a very unfortunate update on Nipsey, the Staffordshire Terrier, and her pups. Regrettably, all ten of Nipsey’s pups passed away over the weekend. Viewers may recall that on June twelfth, a police officer entered a property on Supal Street seeking the whereabout of an individual. After he was reportedly informed that the individual was not at the location and advised not to venture too far into the back of the property because a nursing dog was there, the officer proceeded against the advice. Nipsey’s owner says she barked at the officer to protect her pups. That is when he pulled out his service weapon and shot Nipsey in the face. The dog survived the ordeal and is at home recovering. Her pups became collateral damage. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Two-year-old Nipsey, a blue Staffy, is recovering after being shot in the face by a cop four weeks ago. Nipsey was nursing her ten pups and a chihuahua when the incident occurred. Nipsey’s owner introduced her to us today. She immediately leaned in and wagged her tail, obviously relaxed as she welcomed petting. The police officer that shot her says he feared for his life while inside the property seeking the whereabouts of an individual. Nipsey’s owner says her dog was simply being protective as a nursing mother. Over the weekend, however, the family’s worst fear was realized. Nipsey’s ten pups passed away.
Royanne Riverol, Nipsey’s Owner
“All of them, within one week, all of them just died. It is devastating for us because we took a lot of time, dedication, sleepless nights to assist these little pups and unfortunately all of them just gone.”
“We started off with a powder milk, then we went to an expensive one. That process, we had to even put in, blend the puppy chow, mix it with the milk in order for them to taste it and try to eat it. It is not an easy task, it is very difficult. Sometimes they did not want to take it, but we had to force them to take it.”
The pups were not eating despite Riverol and her brothers’ best efforts.
“They needed her, up to ten weeks they needed her milk. Because of all the medication she was taking, antibiotics and inflammatory medication that would have put a toll on the puppies and let them die as well, because the medication as too strong. Up to now Nipsey is still trying to heal.”
Riverol says the family made a report to the Belize Police Department’s Professional Standards Branch against the police officer that shot Nipsey. They are yet to receive an update on the investigation into their report. Riverol says she looks back on June thirteenth with the same level of frustration.
“He did things wrongly. He could have adhered to what had been said to him. My brother was not here at the time and my mom explained to him that they need to come back another time when he is here. He took it upon himself to enter the property without even asking if he can enter. He just barged into the yard and did what he thinks was to be done. I am frustrated about this whole thing that he actually shot my dog and let all my puppy die because of his negligence. He should not have done that because my dog would not have hurt him. Nipsey is one of the family member. She would not have attacked him because she never attacked anybody.”
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police, June 14, 2024
“I know P.S.B. has taken the complaint and so the matter will be dealt with by the Professional Standard Branch. Certainly, the action of the police is not one that the police will condone. We don’t think the officer ought to have used the amount of force he used on that dog and yes there were reasons for the police to be there but the amount of force the police used was not justified.”
Royanne Riverol
“The only thing is that yes, my Nipsey is here with us still. I am grateful that she is still here because my whole little life would have broken down, because they love her.”
Riverol also owns a Chihuahua pup that was born only a day after Nipsey’s pups. Nipsey began nursing the chihuahua because the pup’s mother was unable to do so. The chihuahua, though weak, is the only survivor six weeks after birth. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.
Dengue Season is Here
Along with the frequent rains will come mosquitoes, and the dengue season. The Ministry of Health and Wellness reports that up to the last week that ended on Saturday, there have been a total of over eight hundred dengue cases. And where you live might matter more when you hear where many of the cases originate. Interestingly, the Belize District no longer has the highest number of dengue cases. The Chief of Vector Control Operations, Kim Bautista, gave us the figures this evening.
Kim Bautista, Vector Control Chief, Operations, MoHW
“As a country, we have reported 865 dengue cases, 383 clinic lab confirmed cases. and 482 clinical confirmed cases. 75 percent of those cases come from the Orange Walk, Cayo and Toledo districts. The Toledo District, the majority of their cases, are from Orange, Cayo, Punta Gorda Town, and of course Bella Vista, which geographically is right on the boundary between the Stann Creek and Toledo Districts, but it is administrated by our Stann Creek staff, but for reporting purposes, it is still classified under the data going from the Toledo District. So the Toledo District accounts for 26 percent of our cases or 224. As of this past week, they account for the highest incidents of cases in country at this time. The Orange Walk District has 197 cases total for the year, 23%, followed by the Cayo District 26% of the total cases or 225. The largest urban epicenter believes district believes city and by extension the district used to account for majority of the dengue cases over recent years that trend has shifted quite a bit. At this same point where in terms of week 27, if you compare week 20 up to week 27 of last year versus week 27 of this year, there’s only a 5% increase. At week 27, last year total, you were looking at 823, and this year you’re looking at 863. So there’s a 5% increase. However, at the week 18, which is at the end of April, since the end of April, we have been below that threshold. And we have been below the trend from last year. So following the projections that we’re seeing we were actually on trend to if we follow this pattern to actually end the year, lower with a lower number of cases than we had last year. So last year, as a country, we reported 3,054 cases, 1,370 laboratory confirmed cases and 1,370 clinical.”
Cleaning Up Swampy Areas Decreases Dengue Cases
Bautista explains that the climate and preparations for the change of weather can add to the potential rise in dengue cases. While in Toledo the increase in transmission occurred during the extensive drought, in other parts of the country when people stockpiled tires as part of beach reclamation, the numbers also spiked in those communities. Overall, however, Bautista advises the public that removing empty drums, buckets containers and coconut shells can prevent an increase in dengue cases.
Kim Bautista, Vector Control Chief, Operations, MoHW
“When we look at the data that our field officers captured the containers that are most positive for the mosquito that transmits dengue tends to be tires and uncovered drums and buckets and things like that. So though you have a drought if you still have the containers out there, to actually breed these mosquitoes, there is the potential for transmission. When the rainy season comes along, it just, I would say exposes the true situation that is out there in terms of the number of containers that are breeding sites, as we call them, that you have out there. And so you would tend to see an increase in cases. So when you look at the amount of tires and, breeding sites bottles being hoarded for recycling and things like that, these breeding sites are – coupled with the fact that you also have issues in terms of low-lying areas poor drainage and, things like that.”