Cop Convicted of Manslaughter Re-enlists in Police Force

The shooting of 24-year-old Emil Rivers by police on Friday in Independence Village has brought up a major controversy. Rivas was reportedly arrested for alleged aggravated assault with a knife and was shot by PC Sheldon Arzu.

The family alleges that Emil, who is on medication for a mental health condition, was brutalised by police by severely beating him before being shot in the stomach and leg.

In Monday’s police briefing, Assistant Commissioner of Police Hilberto Romero offered a different narrative, stating that Rivas attempted to escape from custody twice. “He jumped out of the back of a police vehicle and sustained some injuries. He was immediately apprehended and taken to the cell where he was detained,” Romero said. According to Romero, while Emil’s cell was being cleaned on Saturday, he escaped again and ran to a nearby house, where he allegedly armed himself with a machete. Police cornered him, and after attempts to disarm him failed, a warning shot was fired.

“At some point, then the police officer shot him in the leg. He’s presently admitted in a stable condition,” Romero said on Monday.

However, after Romero provided the police’s side of the incident, Rivas’s mother, Marlene Rivas, shared on Facebook on Monday, “Police and news can lie.” She said that her son was not shot in the leg; he was shot in the abdomen.

Commissioner of Police Chester Williams also confirmed that he was shot in the abdomen. This morning, Williams shared a video of the shooting incident. 

This is not the first time that PC Arzu has been involved with the law. Back in 2005, Arzu was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the manslaughter of Reuben “Pony” Alarcon, who was shot and killed inside a police station in 2003. Arzu’s sentence followed a two-year fight for justice by Alarcon’s family.

According to the police department’s recruitment requirements, “Individuals who have previously served in the department and who voluntarily resigned may be considered for re-enlistment.” As part of the requirement, it also says that ““persons with previous convictions are not normally accepted unless the offences are of a minor nature.”

The question remains: was the manslaughter of Reuben “Pony” Alarcon and a sentence of 13 years an ‘offence of a minor nature’?