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GOB Engages Buckley To Talk Compensation, He Wants 2 Mil
posted (August 5, 2013)
Steven Buckley has been much in the news recently – after the KHMH sent him a bill for services he received after police wrongfully shot him in the head. The story has great poignancy because here's a man who was so badly injured that he lost his ability to work; police gave him no compensation and now he has to pay his own medical bills!? It's an outrage which seems to speak to everything wrong at so many levels of officialdom – but with mounting public pressure – something is finally being done about it – more than three years after he was shot in the head.

After the media put that to Prime Minister Dean Barrow last week Friday, he agreed that Buckley should be compensated, and he promised to intervene to expedite the process.

Well today, the next available weekday, representatives of the Government of Belize met with Buckley, his wife, and his attorney Dickey Bradley at the Racoon Street Police Headquarters.

The media was out there in full force, and after the meeting, Dickey Bradley told us that GOB has decided that they will settle this matter outside of a civil court, and Buckley will be compensated.

According to Bradley, Buckley and his family will get a large sum, as part of a partial payment before the end of the week.

Here's how he explained why:

Dickie Bradley - Attorney for Steven Buckley
"This morning there was a meeting with the acting solicitor general, Mr. Nigel Hawke, and one of the senior counsels from the Ministry - Trinia Young, and the commissioner of police, Allen Whylie and the Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of National Security - Mr. George Lovell. The situation is basically that the government is saying to us that we need not go and establish that the police department or agents of the police department, who under law, are responsible for the injuries inflicted on Mr. Buckley - they accept that that has happened. Where we are is just to reach an amicable agreement over what is the total amount that should be paid to a young strong man who was working and who has five children and a wife and who is now out on the streets begging because it is three years to this month because it was in August 2010 that this unfortunate incident happened. The arrangement is that an undertaken has been given to us from lawyer to lawyer - the solicitor general has said that before this week is over - he was hoping to be able to have brought a check from the Ministry of Finance - but you know there's a procedure to get out very large sums of money out of the Ministry of Finance. Before this week is over he will make contact and there will be a substantial part payment towards the final amount that is owed to Mr. Buckley and then what we will do is that between the lawyers, the government and myself - we will exchange information in relation to matters that are needed to guide both of us as to what will be the final settlement. This includes for example that - I have been able to obtain through my sources, the full deposition that will be used against the officer who unfortunately shot Mr. Buckley. What we need is in fact an updated medical report as to what is Mr. Buckley's condition at present, not at the time when he was shot. Mr. Buckley is incapacitated, he will never be able to work again - he still has pellets from the shot gun lodged in his head - he's unable to use his arm, he's unable to move the way he moved before and so we have to do a formula based on our court cases and decisions. What was his age at the time he was incapacitated, how much money he was earning, what are his expenses, what was his physical, medical condition. Dr. Cervantes was the neurosurgeon that attended him and it says here 'the injuries inflicted permanently injured the health of Mr. Buckley' - that is very important for a settlement. This man has been permanently injured - he says there is a 'permanent injury to the back brachial plexus, he could have lost his life' if he was not operated on by the doctor. In other words this man would have been dead - fortunately he reached the hospital in time and they saved his life and he is permanently disfigured, so not only can he never work again in his life but also he is disfigured. As I say to you, the doctors will confirm that he was shot at close range with a shot gun and pellets are still lodged in his body and they can't move because where they are lodged is in a very delicate situation - that would of course add to what he will be claiming in relation to the injury."

Reporter
"I know you can't give the final amount but give me a range."

Steven Buckley - Getting financial compensation
"Well I asked for two million but we can't get that."

Reporter
"At the same time you're satisfied that the matter is being settled."

Steven Buckley
"Yes, because my boss has my back and I know I'm straight now."

Bradley estimates that the actual time for the completion of the settlement should not take longer than a few weeks, certainly not as long as it took to get to the start of these talks.

That officer who shot Buckley has been identified by police as Inspector Dennis Lopez, and he has been charged with attempted murder and dangerous harm.

He is expected to stand trial before Justice Troadio Gonzalez in the next sitting of the Supreme Court.

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