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Jules Vasquez and family take a stand for our mentally ill

GeneralJules Vasquez and family take a stand for our mentally ill

Jules’ brother, Nestor, Jr., was severely beaten in a holding cell by a deranged person; he later died

BELIZE CITY. Thurs. July 25, 2019– Nestor Vasquez, Jr., 60, of Belize City, the brother of media personality Jules Vasquez, the managing director of Channel 7 Belize, died after he was savagely attacked by a mental patient, Collin Francis, 28, while they were both in lockdown in a cell in the cell block at the Queen Street Police Station on Thursday, June 6.

Police saw the assault in the holding cell on a monitor, after Vasquez was put in the cell with Francis. By means of the monitor, police officers at the station could see Francis viciously slam Vasquez’s head against the cement wall and on the iron bars of the cell door.

Police did not immediately go into the cell and take Vasquez out, and when they finally did, he was unconscious. Vasquez was rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, where he died while receiving treatment on June 8.

In the wake of Vasquez’s death while in police custody, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams said that many protocols were ignored by the policemen who were on duty at the cell block, and that it was his opinion that the police were liable.

At a press conference held yesterday, Wednesday, July 24, Jules Vasquez said that members of his family are urging police to put in place a better system for handling people with mental challenges while they are in police care.

Vasquez said his family is collaborating with the Mental Health Unit and the Police Training Academy to make it a requirement that police officers across the country get this necessary training.

Vasquez said that Dr. Claudia Cayetano, a psychiatrist who was working with the Ministry of Health, wrote and issued a manual for policemen and other law enforcement officers for the proper handling of mentally challenged persons, and they are urging the police to include this manual in their regular training of officers.

Vasquez and his family are urging police to commence the sensitivity training for the handling of mentally challenged people with the incoming police recruit intake, which comprises about 170 officers. Orientation processes for that police recruit intake will be taking place shortly.

Besides the training of the police, the Vasquez family is urging the Ministry of Health to set up a fully staffed and furnished Acute Mental Health Ward at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. Vasquez said there is such a ward in Belmopan, and one is definitely needed in Belize City.

Vasquez said that his family wants something good to come out of the death of his brother, and, in their efforts to improve the conditions of the mentally ill, they are primarily focusing on two goals: immediate treatment for people suffering with acute mental illness, and the protection of persons suffering with mental issues, to prevent them from being subjected to negligence and brutality while in police care.

He said that they have submitted their compensation proposal to the Ministry of Finance and that it is their plan to make a donation to an organization that can implement measures to ensure proper care in the handling of mentally challenged persons.

During a recent press brief at the Queen Street Police Station, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams said that they will collaborate with the Ministry of Health to develop a protocol for the handling of mentally challenged persons.

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