A father and son who say they were both badly beaten by police over the weekend appeared in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court this morning along with their attorney to answer to a number of charges brought against them by the police’s elite Gang Suppression Unit (GSU).

Nestor Galindo, Sr., and his son, Nestor Galindo, Jr., appeared before Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer, who arraigned them on a total of six charges.

But during the court hearing, the Senior Magistrate could not help but notice that the younger Galindo had a black and blue mark under his left eye.

Frazer asked him what happened to his eye; he replied that police had beaten him.

Their attorney, Bryan Neal, told the court that he had gone down to the police station to see his clients.

Neal told the court that he had asked the police at the station for a medico/legal form on behalf of his client, but the police refused his request.

Galindo, Jr., told the court that “the GSU police just came out of their vehicle and began to attack.”

Frazer made a note of the condition of his eye. She also noted that he complained of pain in his back.

When it was the father’s turn to speak, he held up his shirt, turned around and showed the Magistrate what appeared to be a vivid machete mark on his back.

He said that the police just beat him with a machete that they were carrying.

After their injuries were duly noted in the record of the court, Frazer read the charges to them.

Police charged both men with one count each of harm upon GSU officer Harold Garbutt. They were charged with assaulting a police officer.

The younger Galindo was charged with the use of indecent words, for allegedly telling Garbutt, “F…k unno my bwai, uno lone chance man.”

Both men were charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer.

The court’s prosecutor had no objection to bail and Frazer offered the two men bail of $2,000 each plus one surety in the same amount.

Their case was adjourned to August 6, 2014.