ComPol Calls Five-Month Sentence for Police Officer ‘Excessive’

Inspector Christopher Martinez has been sentenced to five months in prison after pleading guilty to wounding detainee Aaron Flowers. According to Flowers, Martinez struck him on the head with a padlock while he was in custody. It is alleged that Inspector Martinez inflicted the injury on Flowers when he discovered that Flowers was the person who allegedly opened fire at his residence with a firearm.

When he appeared in court in June, Flowers said that he has been harassed repeatedly and offered bribes by fellow police officers to drop the charges against Martinez.

Meanwhile, Martinez claims Flowers assaulted him, which led to Flowers being charged with common assault. Last week, Inspector Martinez was sentenced to 5 months behind bars after he pleaded guilty two weeks ago.

When asked about it today, Police Commissioner Chester Williams told reporters, “Mister Martinez took full responsibility for what he did. I believe that he came to the realisation that he was wrong and he got guilty to the charge. I personally believe that the sentence is excessive in nature.”

Williams added, “It’s a matter for him to decide if he’s going to appeal the sentence or not. And I hope that police officers are watching. Again, we’re seeing a number of instances where police officers are being accused of committing different types of crimes. And they will see that the court system is not plain when it comes to police. We start with Kareem Martinez, where we saw an unusual sentence likewise excessively high, and then now we have Martrinez. It’s something for police to watch out for to look at to make sure that they don’t commit themselves.”