Attorney Says Police Abusing Authority  

Attorney at Law, Norman Rodriquez is tonight speaking out against what he says is an abuse of police authority. Rodriquez is representing a Belize City man who has been charged for discharging a firearm in public. According to Rodriquez, one of his client’s family members was being attacked by a knife-wielding man. In response, his client reportedly pulled out his licensed firearm and fired a single shot to the ground. When police arrived on the scene, both the knife-wielding man and the individual who fired the shot was detained. Rodriquez contends that his client acted in a manner deemed appropriate to deescalate a situation that could have turned fatal. Rodriquez’s complaint, however, has to do with the manner in which the case is being handled by the police.

 

Norman Rodriquez, Attorney-at-law

“He was supposed to be brought to court for arraignment and when I was informed that the court book had to be sent back to the police station for amendment. My understanding is that the want to charge him under the Firearm Act which would have led him to not be granted bail under the Crime Control and Criminal Justice Act. So I waited and they brought him this afternoon. I was then informed that the facts does not support the charge, so they have to take him back to Queen Street. It is an abuse of process. It is an abuse of authority that the police is given. There is no right for them charge this man. He should be brought to court within a reasonable time. Yet they have delayed, in that they have gone to amend the book and now they are taking him back to the police station. I take issue with that because if we expect the remainder of the society to respect the police and its procedure they must adhere to the laws and rules that govern them. I mean you have no right to defend your family in a case where their life could have been taken? I mean the man had a knife and could have harmed her with it. This is what the family believes the police was wrong. They believe the man should have not been charged.”