Sunday, January 22, 2023
Our Commissioner of Police speaks well, and sounds sincere in his efforts to tackle the monster problem of crime, especially murders in Belize. He is also a certified lawyer, and thus reasonably well-versed in the use of language. At this time the Police Department is under much scrutiny and suspicion by a disgusted and traumatized public in the aftermath of the New Year’s Eve double murder in Belmopan, which has now become a triple-murder case with the passing last Sunday of Vivian Ramnarace, wife of Jon Ramnarace and sister-in-law of David Ramnarace, who both succumbed to a killer’s bullets on New Year’s Eve. The arrested suspect is former police officer Elmer Nah, at the time on interdiction for a previous offense. On that New Year’s Eve night, Vivian had sustained six gunshots, but survived and managed to return home to Belmopan after spending almost two weeks in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH) in Belize City, only to succumb two days later on January 15 at the Western Regional Hospital. Reportedly, a memorial service for the three well-known, respected and loved residents of Belmopan will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning, January 27, at the Hill Top Basketball Court in Belmopan.
Since that tragic incident, we have noted a heightened police alertness and surveillance in Belize City, and we suspect in Belmopan as well, where frequent police vehicle patrols can be seen all around town, day and night. The Commissioner, in his declared goal to rid the department of “bad cops” and thus provide the wary citizenry with a more efficient and respectful service, has made it known at a number of media briefings that he has “zero tolerance” for such individuals who bring disgrace to the department by abusing citizens’ rights. But it is an uphill battle for the Commissioner, because, as he acknowledges, the law is the law, and a man is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Thus, the reckless and senseless shooting and killing of vehicle driver Allyson Major on a downtown street in the heart of Belize City by a group of police officers who were chasing him in a police patrol pickup, recently saw the sole accused officer acquitted, because the prosecution could not prove that it was his weapon that fired the fatal shot. As has been the norm, of course, the case against that police officer was investigated by officers of the same Police Department.
A weary, frustrated and forlorn citizenry, full of righteous rage and indignation at the time of the incident, after three and a half years and a lot of “water under the bridge” in terms of many more murders, at the rate of over a hundred per year in the nation, have hardly reacted to the report last week that the accused officer was found not guilty of “manslaughter by negligence due to insufficient evidence”. The beat goes on, and although it is generally accepted that one or more members of the group fired shots, one of which hit 36-year-old school teacher Allyson Major in the back of his head and killed him, nobody has been held accountable.
Another sensational manslaughter case that is just coming before the courts is that of the killing by a single shot of 14-year-old Laddie Gillett on the beach in Placencia Village back on Wednesday night, July 14, 2021.
Incidentally, as reported in an Amandala story dated Monday, July 4, 2022, the court verdict had been handed down for the Allyson Major case, “just a few days before the first anniversary” of the killing of Laddie by another police officer. That case is scheduled to begin tomorrow, January 23, when the dismissed police officer will stand trial for manslaughter.
In the Laddie Gillett incident, Commissioner Chester Williams had responded firmly to media questions if there was “justifiable use of lethal force” by the police; and his answer was clear and direct: “No, it was not… we have a use of force policy and one of our polic[ies] is that we are not to shoot at a fleeing suspect…” And at the time of the Allyson Major incident back in 2019, then Deputy Commissioner of Police, Edward Broaster was just as clear, speaking to News5: “We have our pursuit policy and our pursuit policy is very clear. We don’t fire at fleeing vehicles…”
Despite the declared efforts of the Police Commissioner, in the current case of the triple murders, the Ramnarace family has echoed the sentiments of many citizens, by calling for an independent investigator; and it appears that to some extent their call has been heard by Commissioner Williams, who told 7News that “We have solicited assistance from the US Embassy through the regional security officer…”
With the passing of Vivian Ramnarace, there is now only one surviving adult witness to the triple murder, and with the poor track record of witnesses in murder trials in Belize, already the discussion has moved to witness protection. The abysmal track record of murder case convictions in Belize has been universally acknowledged as largely due to lack of cooperation of witnesses due to fear for their lives, fear well-founded in light of past incidents of witnesses being killed before the commencement of a murder case. Let us pray that something is done to ensure that witness testimony can be properly secured if that has not already been done.
In the meantime, every life is important, and if it is not all talk, and the top brass of the Police Department are really committed to make the changes necessary to instill confidence and trust in the Belizean population, then maximum importance must be given to safeguarding the life and well-being of that one remaining adult witness. Indeed, her safety must be a concern for every citizen who loves Belize and wants it to once again become a “tranquil haven of democracy.”
The future of our justice system and thus the state of our democracy may be at stake here. The Commissioner of Police has said, “No stone will be left unturned” in the quest for justice, and we all must be ready and willing to help him “lift that stone.” Without community support, it is extremely difficult for any single citizen to remain anonymous and effectively hide from a would-be assassin wherever he or she might go. The accused may already know the witness, so it is therefore better for all the nation to know the witness and “have her back” wherever she goes; than for her to be left to become the secret target of an accused murderer and his accomplices.
In the meantime, C.B. Hyde’s advice in his Amandala letter of November 26, 2009, may be worthwhile, where he suggests the enacting of: “… a special law against the intimidation of witnesses to include inter alia that on a complaint by a prospective witness to a crime of violence or being threatened with bodily harm made before a Justice of the Peace, that the alleged intimidator should be charged and tried in a court of summary jurisdiction as a matter of urgency. Most important of all, the penalty for this offence should absolutely deter further offences.”
This could be a test case for future efforts; and if success is achieved, it may bode well for the confidence of future witnesses and the successful prosecution and conviction of murderers in Belize. Failure is not an option; the alternative is, murderers rule!!!