Verbal Truce Brokered in Santa Familia Village

The burning of tires and the actions carried out by residents on Monday night are criminal, but ComPol Chester Williams says he instructed officers to stand down. Today, during his intervention with residents, a truce of sorts was brokered – so that the fiery protests would end.

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police

“I did see the videos from what happened last night and yes, while it was happening, police wanted to engage and I said to the police, no. We are not going to engage these people. People do have a right to dissent and even though it was not a peaceful dissent as it ought to have been, we try to understand the pain of the village over what had transpired and so with that we allowed them to express themselves the way they did last night. While yes, what they did last night was wrong, we have to be sensitive to how they feel. The village is outraged and not only the village. I think all of us; right-thinking persons are outraged about what happened. And so I am not going to bring charges against nobody for what happened last night, no.”

Jose Teck, Cousin of Deceased

“Mister Chester. Thank you and I will speak to the villagers that no more burning of tires. But we want to do something. We just want to have justice and that’s it. We will do our best to don’t do that what happened last night.”