Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
On Monday Peter Herrera told 7NEWS that he did not expect his brother Alexander to survive and a few hours later, he did pass away at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. He had been on life support since Sunday night after a police man shot the construction worker once to the back of the head. Today the police remain tightlipped about the shooting but told 7NEWS that the police man who pulled the trigger has been interdicted pending the outcome of an internal investigation. Other reports to us suggest he is not presently on interdiction.
The police would not reveal the name of their fellow officer but he has been identified to 7NEWS as Dixon Polonio, attached to the Patrol Branch. And while he is under investigation, the Police Department is under pressure to produce a credible response after a dubious and offensive release sent out yesterday. A police release issued yesterday reported that at 11:20 on Sunday night, Herrera was seen drunk, and carrying a handgun near the Swing Bridge. The official story is that one of the officers fired a shot and Herrera then jumped into the water. He was later detained and police say that’s when they noticed the injury to his head - the injury of course was the gunshot wound the officers had inflicted.
Like we said, a story that does raise many questions about competence and truthfulness, and the police topped it off by saying that Herrera would be charged after being released from the hospital. That’s what they said about a man with a bullet from a police weapon lodged in his brain. And more disturbing are accounts by witnesses which suggest that the shooting was unjustified.
Today as the Herrera family gets ready to lay their loved one to rest they maintain that they will not rest until whoever is responsible is brought to justice. According to the family what troubles them is that their brother was shot in the back while he was in the water not on land. They are also disturbed at the report that he was taken to the police station, not the hospital. They further maintain that their brother from all accounts was not armed with any weapon but the only thing he had in his hands at the time was marijuana and that is why he probably ran when he saw the police.
Peter Herrera, Brother
“We are busy doing funeral preparations but in the same time what we are doing is we are seeking a legal path to this whole situation. We’ve already consulted an attorney and we are getting the witnesses to tell their side of the story and then we go from there.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Does it bring any consolation that the police have placed the police officer on interdiction pending the outcome of their internal investigation?
Peter Herrera,
“To a certain extent it does but very little. We would like to see a charge laid on the person who did it because obviously this is a criminal act and just interdiction is not sufficient. We need this person to be charged for a capital crime because in our view that was a murder. All the bullet wounds are in his back, both in the back of his head and shoulder. Like I said there is no way they could say otherwise.
Our witnesses are saying my brother was almost in the middle of the river when he got shot. How they know those are the shots that hit him is when he bawled out and he was in the river at least about ten to twelve minutes shouting and bawling out for help before somebody came with a boat and assisted the police to take him and took him on the other side and then they took him to the station. Another thing that we are totally dissatisfied with is the way they are saying that it was when they reached at the station with him that they realized that he got injured.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
And the family maintains that Alexander was not armed, he had no weapon, he had no gun?
Peter Herrera,
“We maintain that because we could positively prove that with the witnesses that we have.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
The only thing as we found out from witness yesterday is that your brother had was weed in his hand.
Peter Herrera,
“That’s our understanding and I think that’s a logical reason to try to not get searched by the police.
It is not just about my brother. It is about past cases of police brutality and even future cases. This is the family’s effort to try to get the police to realize that this action is unacceptable to the population. The country of Belize has laws and that’s why we are depending on those laws.”
On Sunday, forty nine year old Alexander Herrera will be aid to rest following services in Rancho Dolores Village.
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: 7 News Belze
Copyright: 2008 Naturalight Productions Ltd.
Contact: 7 News Belize
Website: 7 News Belize
The police would not reveal the name of their fellow officer but he has been identified to 7NEWS as Dixon Polonio, attached to the Patrol Branch. And while he is under investigation, the Police Department is under pressure to produce a credible response after a dubious and offensive release sent out yesterday. A police release issued yesterday reported that at 11:20 on Sunday night, Herrera was seen drunk, and carrying a handgun near the Swing Bridge. The official story is that one of the officers fired a shot and Herrera then jumped into the water. He was later detained and police say that’s when they noticed the injury to his head - the injury of course was the gunshot wound the officers had inflicted.
Like we said, a story that does raise many questions about competence and truthfulness, and the police topped it off by saying that Herrera would be charged after being released from the hospital. That’s what they said about a man with a bullet from a police weapon lodged in his brain. And more disturbing are accounts by witnesses which suggest that the shooting was unjustified.
Today as the Herrera family gets ready to lay their loved one to rest they maintain that they will not rest until whoever is responsible is brought to justice. According to the family what troubles them is that their brother was shot in the back while he was in the water not on land. They are also disturbed at the report that he was taken to the police station, not the hospital. They further maintain that their brother from all accounts was not armed with any weapon but the only thing he had in his hands at the time was marijuana and that is why he probably ran when he saw the police.
Peter Herrera, Brother
“We are busy doing funeral preparations but in the same time what we are doing is we are seeking a legal path to this whole situation. We’ve already consulted an attorney and we are getting the witnesses to tell their side of the story and then we go from there.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Does it bring any consolation that the police have placed the police officer on interdiction pending the outcome of their internal investigation?
Peter Herrera,
“To a certain extent it does but very little. We would like to see a charge laid on the person who did it because obviously this is a criminal act and just interdiction is not sufficient. We need this person to be charged for a capital crime because in our view that was a murder. All the bullet wounds are in his back, both in the back of his head and shoulder. Like I said there is no way they could say otherwise.
Our witnesses are saying my brother was almost in the middle of the river when he got shot. How they know those are the shots that hit him is when he bawled out and he was in the river at least about ten to twelve minutes shouting and bawling out for help before somebody came with a boat and assisted the police to take him and took him on the other side and then they took him to the station. Another thing that we are totally dissatisfied with is the way they are saying that it was when they reached at the station with him that they realized that he got injured.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
And the family maintains that Alexander was not armed, he had no weapon, he had no gun?
Peter Herrera,
“We maintain that because we could positively prove that with the witnesses that we have.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
The only thing as we found out from witness yesterday is that your brother had was weed in his hand.
Peter Herrera,
“That’s our understanding and I think that’s a logical reason to try to not get searched by the police.
It is not just about my brother. It is about past cases of police brutality and even future cases. This is the family’s effort to try to get the police to realize that this action is unacceptable to the population. The country of Belize has laws and that’s why we are depending on those laws.”
On Sunday, forty nine year old Alexander Herrera will be aid to rest following services in Rancho Dolores Village.
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: 7 News Belze
Copyright: 2008 Naturalight Productions Ltd.
Contact: 7 News Belize
Website: 7 News Belize
