ComPol Scolded for Bordering on Contempt of Court  

Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams found himself in hot water with Belize’s Association of Defense Attorneys. In a press release, the association chastised Williams for making a statement to the media where he expressed dissatisfaction with the results of several court rulings. In the case of Jaron James, the Belizean-American who was charged with assaulting Williams, he stated that the fine of one thousand, five hundred dollars was not a harsh enough punishment. Conversely, Williams also said that he believed the charges levied against Inspector Christopher Martinez, who was accused of abusing a detainee, were excessive. In response, Commissioner Williams says that he is entitled to his opinion.

 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“When one of those same members of the Association for Defense Attorneys had gone and given interview to the media  and said that we are bringing white judges to send black people to jail. Was there any concern with this? I would say that border contempt of court as well. We have a society where some people feel that they can do certain things.  But when others do less than what they did, they want to make an issue. That association, while I have the utmost respect for its members, their job is to defend those persons who fall within the domain of the police who have committed a crime. And  of course, they will do  all they can to make sure that they defend their constituents. As a commissioner of police, I have a responsibility. Not just to myself, but to the country and the officers that I knew. And I maintain my position that the same way we’re saying to police officers, don’t abuse the public, because if you do, you’re going to jail. The same way we must tell the  public, don’t abuse the police, because if you do, you’re going to jail. You can’t, we can’t have a society where people don’t respect the police. They don’t respect the courts. They don’t respect the media. They don’t respect public officers. The group of people I mentioned just now do or perform a duty to respond to when that duty is being executed, we must be respectful.  Including you, it cannot be that when you’re out there trying to cover a very important story, somebody comes and assaults you and gets away with it. It cannot be.  By so doing they do a disservice to the nation.”