BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Mar. 10, 2022– The increase in gang-related shootings across the city has led Commissioner of Police Chester Williams to announce that the police will be forgoing the method of mediation for much more aggressive and direct methods of dealing with feuding gang members.
The Police Commissioner recently told local media that, since attempts at dialogue have been failing, police officers in Belize City will be carrying out daily operations targeted at gang members. One such operation has resulted in the arrest of a 20-year-old believed to be responsible for the January 21st murder of Burrell Boom businessman Leslie Gillett.
On Thursday, March 10, at around 5:30 p.m., police went to the St. Martin De Porres area in search of the accused murderer. What resulted, according to Commissioner Williams, was an attack on the police by an angry mob which led to the police firing rubber bullets in response. The person wanted in connection with the Burrell Boom murder, Earl Dean Baptist, was subsequently arrested along with his brother, Hubert Baptist, who had reportedly attempted to throw away a .45 caliber pistol and 60 rounds of ammunition, which were eventually recovered.
Since then, however, residents of the area have claimed that the police displayed an unnecessary amount of force and that they also fired unwarranted shots at two vehicles. In response to those claims, and to the surveillance videos that the residents have shared which show the entire incident, the Commissioner of Police remarked via Facebook that it merely shows the “difficult circumstances under which the police must work.”
“I call upon our citizens to be patient and supportive of our efforts as we try our best to ensure your safety. We cannot allow a hand full of criminals to hold us hostage in our community,” he wrote. And those are the same sentiments that the Commissioner expressed to local media when he first spoke about the upcoming increase in special operations last week.
“We cannot continue to work with terrorists. Behave like terrorists, then you will be treated as one,” said the COMPOL, who noted that even some of the men who make an effort to attend mediation meetings held by police to ease tensions between gangs end up becoming gunmen at night.
According to Commissioner Williams, the string of shootings seen over the past few weeks are a direct result of an intense rivalry between George Street and Wagner’s Lane gangs that has expanded to include the PIV and Mayflower areas as well. This includes last week’s shooting near Logwood Street which proved fatal after four men from the PIV area were dropped off in the area to carry out an execution. The four were spotted by men from the area and this led to an exchange of gunfire which saw one of the would-be-executioners, 23-year-old Carrel Sanchez, shot dead.
That failed ambush was an attempt at retaliation for the attempted murder of Patrick “Pato” Jones which occurred on Mopan Street last Monday night. Jones was shot at while driving, and his vehicle, which overturned during the attack, was extensive damaged.
According to some reports, Carrel Sanchez had just attended a mediation meeting last Tuesday—the same day that the Logwood Street shooting took place. And while the Commissioner expressed that he isn’t certain how true that is, he stated that he won’t stand for gang members thinking they can “take us [the police] for a ride.”
“While yes we do have some of them who are productive and are engaged in the ongoing arrangement that we have through the Multi-Agency Task Force, we will try our utmost best to keep those who are engaged and trying to change their life to do so, but at the same time we must go hard on those who continue to hold the people of the city hostage,” said Commissioner Williams.
“It seems as if some don’t want for us to work with them and they want to be working against us or against the law-abiding people of this country. And so operations will be conducted in Belize City every day,” he added, and further noted that he believes the people of the city have had enough.
The COMPOL says he was invited to a recent mediation meeting but declined. “I believe that I have spoken enough with these people. For me at this time it’s no more talking,” he said.
In addition to sparking an increase in special operations, the recent gang warfare has also prompted some changes in leadership. The police’s Eastern Division will soon be seeing the transferral of its leader, Senior Superintendent Suzette Anderson, who is being replaced by the former head of the Western Region, Assistant Commissioner of Police Howell Gillett.
While the Commissioner has said that there is no magic fix for the crime situation, the department will continue to do what it can for the safety and security of the people.
“We have to from time to time re-strategize, look at situations where we can put people where they can function at optimal…We believe it is best to have the senior ACP in the Eastern Division,” explained Williams, citing the dynamics and the large size of the division.