John Pascal Remains Comatosed After Alleged Police Brutality

An internal investigation by the Professional and Standards Branch of the Belize Police Department is currently underway in Dangriga following allegations of police brutality made by a family in that southern municipality. Twenty-one year old John Pascal is tonight in a state of coma at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital after he was allegedly beaten to a pulp by officers attached to the Dangriga Police Formation earlier this month. The incident reportedly occurred on the night of May first. According to Oswald Mena, while driving across the main bridge in Dangriga Town, he heard several gunshots. He stopped and noticed that police opened fire at a man. The man had reportedly committed a robbery and jumped from the bridge into the river in an effort to evade the officers who were in pursuit. Residents in the area gathered, watching as the officers continued firing shots at the man. Mena would soon learn that it was his younger brother who was the target of the officers.

Oswald Mena

Oswald Mena, Brother of Alleged Victim of Police Brutality

“I was driving through town and upon crossing the main bridge, we heard a gunshot. So I stopped and I came out and went to look on. I observed that a guy was in the river and the police was firing gunshots at him. As that continued, the crowd just grew bigger. I mean bullets firing at one head that just kept on popping up. Well after about ten minutes, the individual in the water came on my side of the bridge and I observed that it was my little brother. When I noticed it was him, I yelled at him and he ended up surrendering to the police. He just put up his hands and in front of me, we had a CIB and a regular police. They uttered a statement that really annoyed me…”mek we shoot ahn.” There an then, I exchanged words with them let them know, dah my bredda, di man done surrender; weh unu wah kill ahn for? And dah soh, di regular police end up di point ah gun at the individual that was with me. So the shooting seized, dehn never did kill him. One officer ended up in a boat and he went, cuffed my brother and he walked right out of the river. Now I went on the other side of the town, dropped off my cousin, went back to the station and an individual told me that they took my brother to hospital. Now I run over to the hospital and when I arrived at the hospital, they said that the police never even make a round yet. my brother wasn’t there.”