A 42 year old man is claiming police brutality after he said he was badly beaten in the island town of San Pedro. Brian Castillo, a watchman of -Una Cantina Mas- located up the Coast of San Pedro Town told 7news that on Thursday morning sometime after 3am, GSU officers visited the resort and demanded that he handed over drugs. Castillo said he had no idea what the officers were talking about and that was when they began brutalizing him. Today we caught up with Castillo at the Medical Associates where he showed us X-rays of his broken ribs and cuts and bruises all over his body.
Brian Castillo
"On Thursday, between 3:30 and 5:00, I was on the coast of San Pedro, like a mile and a quarter from Belize/Mexican border, I am a watchman of a resort called "Una Cantina Mas" and whilst in bed I heard heavy banging on the door. They said 'get out of the house, or else we are going to shoot up' and I jumped off my bed and I opened the door, when I saw so many uniform men. Some with mask and a couple without mask. They grabbed me from in front of the door and held me to the ground and started beating me, asking me for drugs 'where is the drugs that I found.' I told them I found no drugs and I don't know about any drugs. They keep beating me and they say they are going to kill me. They stand on my back and 4 of them held me down; one whopping me on my legs with a big stick and one holding my mouth, telling me not to scream while they are beating me, punching me on the side of my ribs. They fractured 3 of my ribs. I got bruises to the leg. They stomp me in the face. They did me lots of things - they beat me up. I thought I was going to die. Afterwards, they lifted me off the ground and they handcuffed me, one put a gun at the back of my head, one in my mouth and they told me to go and show them the next camp south of where I was. So, they took me there in my boxers, no shoes, no clothes and they took me like quarter mile, south of where I was, to a resort named "Blue Ventures Resort." I went there and I showed them, this is Blue Venture. One of them said, 'leave him here.' They had me handcuff, they laid me on the ground and they leave one of them guard me, while they went to the front where the cabanas are and I heard the guys screaming and yelling. I think they were beating up the guys also."
"Afterwards, they told me to go about my business, before they changed their minds and kill me and leave me there in the bushes."
Monica Bodden
"I understand that you have some screws in your legs and some were also displaced."
Brian Castillo
"Yes, I have some screws in my legs off a previous accident and one of the screws in my leg came out, because of the beating they did. All my legs are swollen. There are bruises all over my legs."
Monica Bodden
"You weren't charged for anything, you left with a huge hospital bill and you are in pain. I mean, tell me, how you plan on handling this situation?"
Brian Castillo
"Actually, the owner of the property, he says that he is going to take care of it for me and see what I can with legal authorities - take them to court, so he can get back his money or something like that."
Monica Bodden
"You plan on making a complaint to the police department?"
Brian Castillo
"Yes, I have made a complaint. I have gotten a medical form and now I am going back to the police and give a formal report about it."
Monica Bodden
"Anybody from the GSU department contacted you as yet?"
Brian Castillo
"No. Nobody from GSU. They also took away my phone. They are contacting my people trying to make deals or something like that."
Monica Bodden
"And you are sure it was the GSU? You saw their uniform?"
Brian Castillo
"Yes. I am sure. I recognized one of them."
No charge was made against Castillo. We were also told that the same set of officers allegedly beat up a 73 year old man and 3 other men who are working at another resort in the same area of the island.
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