A hair braider who works out of the Belize City Tourism Village claims a police corporal with a long history of abuse used excessive force against her.
She says that last week Wednesday, she had a confrontation with a fellow hair braider while in the tourism village. Officers attached to the Tourism Police Unit responded to try to keep the peace, and in that process, Sharmaine Copious claims that the Corporal punched her in the head and choked her before his fellow officers could calm him down.
Today, she explained the confrontation with the officer to us:
Sharmaine Copious
"They came up to the approach of the vociferous behavior with me and the young lady. They escorted us out of the village which is behind the barrier behind Mirab - both of us in the direction behind the barrier, this other officer followed us and he start to push at me. I said to him please not do that. Both of them held on; one on the hand that I had a soda and the other that I am holding my bicycle with. The corporal drag the bicycle out of my right hand and the other police officer drag the soda out of my left hand. Anyways, my hand went backwards because of the way the police officer had my hand. So my hand ended up hitting him on the shoulder area. He said that he was going to charge me for assaulting a police officer. I got so mad I said to him "f-ing charge me" with an obscene language. The corporal now, he says give me the radio and he drag the radio off the other officer side and he radioed in for a mobile to come get me. While that is happening, I am still being vociferous; I am still saying my part. So he said to me that if I was a man he would have beaten me. So I said to him again in a tone of voice "you beat me!" and then he said just like how I have beaten your brother I will beat you. And when I was entering the back of the police vehicle, he punches me with his hand on the right side of my forehead. One foot was inside the vehicle and the other was out. I stood out back and I punch him right back. That is when he rushed up to me and he drag me in the throat area and he started to squeeze my throat until another police officer who was there on a motor cycle and the other two that came in the police vehicle drag his hand off my throat and said to him "that's a female Mr. Corporal" and then the incident was over."
"Then they took me and lock me up from 1pm in the afternoon until 6pm when a higher officer who work at the tourist village came and release me and told me to report back on Thursday to get my charge that the other police charge me for assaulting him and the obscene language."
Daniel Ortiz
"Doesn't it make sense that you already have an officer who is aggrieved and he is the authority figure - why did you become confrontational?"
Sharmaine Copious
"Yes, I thought that that was a wrong approach in deed, but I am a person that when I am right, I will stand up for my rights. That's who I am."
Copious has been charged with assaulting a police officer, and she tells us that she has made a formal complaint against the officer she is accusing.
We note that this officer has been the subject of other complaints of excessive public abuse.
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