In Belize, four police officers, including an inspector, are to return to court on September 13 on a charge of manslaughter arising out of the death of 20-year-old Derrick Uh, who had been detained by law enforcement authorities last weekend for allegedly touching a woman inappropriately.
Uh, who was attending the popular San Joaquin Festival on Sunday night, was placed inside a police prison van, and was left unattended for over 12 hours before he was discovered dead.
The four – Inspector Isaias Sanchez, Sergeant Rosario Romero, and police constables Errol Peralta and Alrick Borland – were taken to court under heavy police guard late Thursday.
The media was not allowed to enter the courtroom as police officers kept reporters at a distance and no plea was taken. Following submissions by their lawyers the men were granted bail of BDZ$10,000 (One Belize dollar=US$0.49 cents) each.
Attorney Norman Rodriguez, who is representing Peralta, later told reporters “it’s the usual preceding. If you’re charged for a crime you are brought before the court. You are arraigned then you are read the charge and a plea is taken, but because this one is indictable no plea was taken.”
He said there was no objection to bail.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Belize (HRCB) is calling on the Belize Police Department to improve and enforce disciplinary measures.
In a statement, the HRCB said the circumstances surrounding the death of Uh are incredulous and a travesty.
“While the Commissioner of Police Chester Williams has indicated that the department will ensure a full and thorough investigation into the matter, we call on the government to look into more severe punishments for law enforcement officers who are found culpable of gross negligence and breach of protocols.”
Home Affairs Minister, Kareem Musa, has already described the incident that led to Uh’s death as “truly an unthinkable travesty, something that none of us could ever fathom could possibly take place and a series of missteps and mishaps that have resulted in this absolutely heinous tragedy.
“We will ensure that this is a thorough, comprehensive, and fully transparent investigation into this what I have to categorize as a wrongful death instance. Up to this time, there is nothing to suggest that there was any intentionally killing of Derrick Uh,” he added.
CMC/
