BELIZE CITY, Sun. Nov. 7, 2021 — In a media briefing, the Commissioner of Police Chester Williams stated his position on how officers who break the law should be dealt with. He said that he will not condone such behavior within the department and any officers who are found to be in violation of the laws they were employed to enforce will not be shielded from the penalties for their actions.
The remarks were made in the aftermath of the landing of a drug plane and a subsequent drug bust that led to the arrests of several police officers who allegedly were involved in the operation.
Commissioner Williams also informed reporters that a number of officers have been dismissed over the past few weeks — with more than forty officers in total being relieved of their duties in the recent past after engaging in some type of inappropriate behavior. “It goes to show that this administration is not in the habit of shielding or condoning the disciplined behavior of police officers,” Williams said.
Some of those officers who were forced to leave the department are Corporal Kareem Martinez, identified as the alleged gunman who fatally shot 14-year-old Laddie Gillett; Corporal Rosendo Joel Cantun, who was found with 24 parcels of cannabis following a search operation in Orange Walk Town; WPC Michelle Brown, who was the prime suspect in the investigation of the murder of famous barber Fareed Ahmad; and PC Edgar Teul, who is accused of sexually violating an 18-year-old female at a Succotz police station.
“I have spared nothing to make sure that officers who step out of line are dealt with to the full extent of our disciplinary process, even in situations where the adjudicators did not recommend dismissal,” stated Commissioner Williams. He said that as Commissioner of Police he has the power to review all decisions made by the tribunal adjudicators and scale up the decision as seen fit. “That is what I did in three of those four cases, because the dismissal was not recommended, but despite that, after having reviewed, I am of the belief, based on the evidence that the offenses committed by these police officers was so grave that it granted a dismissal, so they were dismissed,” he said.