Last Saturday morning, Alpheus “Juneberg” Smith, 22, who is said to be a member of the George Street gang, died after being shot 14 times on Curassow Street in Belize City, allegedly by members of Back-a-town gang. Police, then, in an attempt to ensure that no retaliation took place and no gang warfare broke out, detained men from both the George Street and Back-a-town areas.
Yesterday morning at 10:00, a group of about 60 young men said to be affiliated with the two notorious gang groups in Belize gathered in a conference room at the Eastern Division Headquarters on Queen Street, under the direction of Allen Whylie, officer commanding Eastern Division and Senior Superintendent of Police, Chester Williams, in hopes of “quashing” any ideas to retaliate or react.
Apart from many “top-notch” officers present, invited guests included Evan “Mose” Hyde and Kalilah Enriquez of KREM Radio, Diane Finnegan, Emerson Guild, Bert Tucker, the Ombudsman – Paul Rodriguez, Erwin X, Canon Leroy Flowers of the Anglican Church, and a priest, Dwayne Klurkin, who is originally from Barbados. (Amandala columnist Smokey Joe accompanied the KREM delegation.)
The speakers were great, giving the men many quotes to live by and keep in their hearts, such as, “I was born in the ghetto, but the ghetto must not be born in me.” “Life is not perfect.” “Respect one another and respect life.” “If you, the ‘ghetto people’ die, then we, as a people, become weaker.”
Williams, in his speech, confirmed the rumor that a police officer “pepper sprayed” the young men while they were in lockdown on Monday night, June 18. Police are investigating. They assured the public that the officer would be dealt with properly, maintaining that the officer acted on his own. Supt. Williams said that the police had to call in the fire truck, which sprayed the men with water. Later they had relatives bring in clothes so that the men could have changed out of the wet clothing.
Mose said that he was glad to be a part of the meeting, but in all honesty, was convinced that if the men were not there forcefully, the end result would have been different. Guild added to that, saying that he was upset because the men were illegally detained, in actuality for nothing done, but in anticipation of something they might do.
Mose told the men that as a talk show host, it aches him to hear of a black youth being murdered, because when they die, we become weaker. He told the men that they are the ones that truly embrace KREM and if they should die, then our listeners will only decrease in number, hence weakening us. Mose told them that he believed that the men could settle all beefs, noting that after the first truce meeting in 2006, there were no shootings for a couple months, even though people had called the show saying that the men could not give up their lifestyle. He added to that statement by using the example before them, the fact that police were asking for them to settle when another officer “pepper sprayed” them for no apparent reason.
He asked the men to set a foundation for their children, and before doing anything, always think of their families – usually the ones that are left behind to mourn. In closing he said, “Unu have to luv unu.”
Whylie told the men that justice would prevail in the shooting death of Juneberg and therefore not to retaliate. He asked the men to wait and let the court and justice system take their course. He said that he was willing to have as many talks with the men, but that he won’t be cutting any deals and will deal with them accordingly, if it calls for that.
Canon Flowers said to the police and the men that he believes that respect and trust need to be gained on both sides. Looking at the police, he said the men and their families need to gain some type of trust in the police system. Without the public’s cooperation, the police’s job is even harder, he said.
Dwayne Klurkin said that he has been here for two years and he has buried more black men here in Belize City than he had buried in any other country that he has been. The saddest part was the fact that all the victims were from ages 14-25 – pretty young.
Diane asked the police what they could guarantee the men in order for them to give up their lifestyle and never look back. No immediate answer was given, but Bert told the men that if they organized and grouped together, they would be amazed at the wonders they could do. That is when some of the men said that “bigger heads” (politically speaking) needed to be there to hear what they had to say. Bert told them that when they are united, they could get even the Queen of England to come to their meeting, if they desired.
Erwin X told the men that what Bert said is true and if they unite, they can run the entire 8,866 square miles of Belize instead of just ruling George Street, Back-a-town, Gill Street, and Kraal Road, to name a few.
That is when a young man got up and said that the beef is not a turf war, but rather a war to provide for their families. He was not made to elaborate on his statement, however, which I thought was very essential. He then said that he was upset because they had already been detained when the police broke his friend’s jaw, that friend being Gerald “Shiny” Tillett.
“Will the officer be charged for that?” he asked, saying that an ID parade should be conducted with the officers to point out the accused.
Another youth got up and showed scars that he endured after the pepper spray fiasco. You could see the bruises and abrasions in his chest and back, which he said he got when he was beaten with a baton.
An officer immediately came and took him to get an official statement, but another youth got up and said that he had been punched in the mouth and another said that his dog had been shot that very morning by police.
Another meeting is being planned for the next three weeks, but the young men will not be forced to attend this time. It is scheduled to be held at the Bird’s Isle.
Up to this evening, we had not received anything official on any officer being charged for any of the crimes mentioned above.