So, what happened to the residents who you saw in that video of the police misconduct? Well, we've been following the story since the weekend, and multiple sources told us that at least 4 people were injured by those gunshots that the Police Constable fired at the ground.
One of them is San Pedro resident Alfredo Cowo, who we got a chance to speak to at the Belize Healthcare Partners Hospital. He and his brother were injured by those gunshots which bounced off the pavement and hit them in the leg.
He told us that at around 4 o'clock that Saturday morning, he came out of the club and saw 3 officers he recognized, and they were dragging two women. He began recording the incident on his cellphone, and to document the police excess. He says that PC Darnell Madrill approached him, demanding that he hand over the device. He said that he refused, and that's when Madrill punched him in the nose. He said that the officers were trying to detain his brothers, George and Jose, and caused a confrontation, in which he was hit over the eye with a gun. He says that Madrill was the one who hit him, and he had a shot gun in his hand.
He's pressing charges, and today, he granted us an interview outside the hospital to describe what happened. Here's what he told us:
Alfredo Cowo, Alleges Police Brutality
"The San Pedro QRT police beat up 2 girls. I went there and I took out my phone and I videoed it. I videoed one, PC Madrill saw me and came to me and ask me for my phone, I told him that I wasn't going to give him my phone and then he punch me in my nose. Then my brothers came and ask why were they chancing me. The police told the other ones to detain my brother, because I ask why they were chancing me."
"When PC Madrill grabbed my brother from the neck, everybody there told the police to let him go. Then when I turn around, PC Madrill knocked me with something, I don't know if it's the gun, but I just feel pain and I eyes start bleeding and then PC Coye started shooting and I got shot on my feet. I have about 13-14 pellets in my feet. I went to Karl Heusner Hospital and they couldn't take it out and that's why I came here."
"They took down my statement and they just released me without a charge, because I told them about how they will charge us for aggravated assault when we didn't assault anyone with a weapon. That was it. They just released us and then I came here to try to remove the pellets from my foot and see what will be the outcome."
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