He may not have had the bruises or cuts that usually accompany an alleged complaint of police brutality but well known yoga instructor and chiropractor Orlando Pelayo says he was abused by the cops who showed up at his property just after five this morning. According to Pelayo he was home with his family when he was startled by a loud noise. Pelayo said when he viewed his surveillance camera he saw a pickup truck had pulled up to his property and that there were at least fifteen armed police men. One was ringing the buzzer at his gate while another was holding what looked to be a pair of handcuffs.
Confused about what could possibly be the problem Pelayo says he went out to the balcony and that is when he recognized one man in civilian clothing whom he knows as Mr. Yama from the Belize City Council who informed him that they were there to arrest him. Further bewildered by what was happening Pelayo said he then went out into his yard to meet the men because as far as he is concerned he had done nothing to have merit such a show of force.
According to Pelayo he was told that they had a warrant for his arrest in connection with a traffic violation involving a vehicle that Pelayo says he has no knowledge of. But there’s always a story behind the story and in this case, a summons for a parking offence involving the van was delivered to him 6 weeks ago. From that time Pelayo explained that it was a case of mistaken identity and he is not the owner nor driver of the vehicle.
Pelayo was then advised to clear up the matter with a Magistrate at the Municipal Court which he did and claims he was assured that the matter would be taken care of. But that never happened and it culminated in this morning’s incident. Pelayo was taken to court to defend himself and clear his name in a matter he says he is totally innocent.
Orlando Pelayo, Alleges Brutality
“I need an apology from the Belize City Council and the Police Force because this is ridiculous, highly ridiculous. How could you take a man to court and those descriptions don’t fit him at all. The World Court would throw that out. I didn’t even need an attorney this morning. This is victimization. This is the way I see it.
Something is wrong in our society. Something is terribly wrong and I am not the first person. Look at that lady what happened to her the other day. Now I am the victim now.
And I want Belizeans to understand, you could be next. Innocent citizens could be next. We need to put a stop to this. A precedent must be placed. Citizens must understand that we have rights. We have rights. They come in their military camouflage and they want to wage war against innocent citizens? Something is wrong, something has to be wrong.”
The case was dropped, but he’s not leaving it there; he says it’s about time that someone take a stand.
