Photo: Peter Graham, charged
He was caught stealing, got suspended, and will get full pay!
by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Mon. Jan. 13, 2025
A police officer was caught red-handed on a surveillance camera stealing over $500 from a local business establishment in Belize City on Monday, January 6.
The brazen act took place between 8:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. that Monday when the business’s proprietor, 56-year-old Jiabi Wang, briefly left her office at J&Y Block Factory on Mahogany Street. Upon returning, she saw 52-year-old Peter Graham of Mahogany Heights, Belize District – the officer assigned to special duty at the establishment – behind her desk.
Photo: Camera footage of Peter Graham stealing
Wang began interrogating him, but Graham insisted that he was there locking a padlock that was open and was about to leave. However, Wang didn’t believe his explanation, and checked her desk drawer and immediately found that $300 was missing. She later realized a total of $550 was unaccounted for, and she informed the police.
“His action is disgusting,” said the Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams. “I was told that he eventually [put] back the money [hoping] that the matter would not be pursued. But believe you me, what I saw in that video footage is unforgivable,” he added.
Police then launched an investigation, during which they recorded statements, visited and photographed the scene, and reviewed surveillance footage in which Graham could be seen going into the drawer. He was officially charged on Sunday, January 12, with theft.
But before he was charged, Graham was served with a letter notifying him of his suspension, which became effective on January 11, pending the outcome of the investigation. The letter also notes that the accused Graham will receive his full salary during his suspension period.
“We are police officers. We are charged with the trust and confidence of the public. His conduct in that video goes against the grain of what being a police officer is, and so he was suspended immediately… So, the legal office will write him and ask about the allegation depicted in the video footage and why he should not be dismissed. He’ll be given 14 days to reply to that letter. He can do so alone or through an attorney. Once I get a response, I will apply my best judgment, looking at his response reasonably. If I should find that his reasons are not [justifiable], I may proceed [with] his dismissal,” said ComPol Williams.
This isn’t his first time on the other side of the law. Graham was once detained in 2018 after he and another police officer were encountered near the scene of a suspected drug plane landing near Barranco Village, Toledo. Nonetheless, no charges were brought against them, but they were subjected to internal disciplinary actions.