14-year-old boy shot by the police while vacationing at Chabil Mar Resort, Belize
The police officer assists in the investigations into the shooting death of a 14-year-old boy who was vacationing at the Chabil Mar Resort in Placencia, a low-key fishing village located at the country's southern tip.
Police said they are awaiting direction from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) concerning the death of Laddie Gillett.
Reports said that Gillett and another minor were heading back to the resort on Wednesday night when they were pursued by police officers, one of whom fired the deadly shot that caught Gillett in the back.
“Police received a call from a security guard at a resort that some people were looking suspicious in the area. Police responded to the location, and upon arrival, they encountered two or three young men; they saw them running. In the process of doing so, one of the officers fired a single shot, and the shot caught one of the individuals who was running,” Police Commissioner Chester Williams told reporters.
Williams said that the officer's action was without a doubt unjustifiable because it goes against police protocol in all its forms.
“From what I know so far, based on what we have recorded, the shooting would be unjustified. We have our use of force policy, and one of our policies is that we are not to shoot at a fleeing suspect. He was not a suspect, and yes, he was running, but from what we are gathering, he was not running from the police."
As such, the Commissioner said: “He cannot be regarded as a fleeing suspect, and so yes, the use of force would be unjustified. It goes against our policy…and while yes, we do at times encourage warning shots, warning shots are to be fired in the air, not even on the ground, because the ground can ricochet. So there is no way, from what I know so far, that we can justify what happened.".
The police said they have already taken statements from the officers who had responded to the call, and the security guard and the minor survived the ordeal.
Media reports said that even as Gillett was mortally wounded, the other minor was physically assaulted by police officers and the security guard.
“I also got that information from the mother when I spoke to her…and that is also a part of the investigation being done by the Professional Standards Branch because if the officers did that, then that is utterly wrong and will not be countenanced by us,” Williams said.
“The child, from what the mother told me, had just gone to a nearby place, him and his friend to drop off a female friend, and they were on their way back and were running to beat curfew and not necessarily running from the police. And so it isn't perfect.
“I cannot say that I can feel what the mother is feeling, but I can feel her pain, and it would be rough for any parent. I don’t have a 14-year-old, but I have an 11-year-old, and I could imagine if I were in her shoe how I would feel,” Williams told reporters.
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