BELIZE CITY, Fri. Aug. 7, 2020– Nigel Ferguson, 33, a mentally unwell man with no fixed address, has been charged with aggravated assault and has been detained pending arraignment.

Police said that Ferguson threw hot water on Sergeant Keith Clarke, which scalded the police officer’s shoulder, yesterday morning near Pound Yard Bridge.

Police said that Ferguson was not wearing his mask in public, as is required, and when the sergeant told him to put on his mask, he told the policeman that he was their boss, and would not put on the mask.

Ferguson then walked off.

Sergeant Clarke walked after him in the attempt to make him wear the mask, and that was when he was scalded with hot water Ferguson had just gotten from a food stall to make his coffee.

People who know Ferguson said that it was an accident that happened when Ferguson turned around to face the police officer.

Ferguson was then arrested and taken to the police station, while Sergeant Clarke was taken to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Keisha Milligan, a relative of Ferguson, told the media that the family could post bail for him and he could be released into their custody, but they are fearful because he is unstable and cannot be trusted, and may harm them.

She is looking for somewhere he could be held safely, she said.