And while police negotiated to get some very deadly weaponry off the street, there was no negotiating yesterday as police set chase after a man who they claimed was carrying a gun in plain view on Albert Street. That man is clinging to life in the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital tonight after being shot by police. He has been identified as forty nine year old construction worker and Ladyville resident Alexander Herrera. Police claim Herrera was armed when he confronted a police officer around eleven twenty on Sunday night. It happened near the southern approach to the Swing Bridge at the Riverside, across from Central Drug Store.
One witness who did not wish to appear on camera told 7NEWS that the only thing Alexander Herrera was holding in his hand was some weed and that is why he took off running when he saw the police and jumped into the Belize River by the Belize City Swing Bridge. According to the witness who says he was along with Herrera at the time of the incident the police shot at his friend in the back of the head after he entered the water. And indeed tonight, Herrera does have a gunshot wound to the back of his head and two to his back.
Today 7NEWS caught up with the victim’s family at the KHMH. They say they are very disturbed by the official police report and say there is no way their brother was a threat to the police man’s life and that they strongly disbelieve that he was armed. According to Peter Herrera his brother is not expected to live.
Peter Herrera, Brother Shot by Police
“We have two bullet lodged in his brain. One is lodged between the brain and the skull and another one is lodged in the center of the brain and he has two more bullets, one in the back of his shoulder and the other one almost in the center of his back.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
So at this time he is being kept alive only by machine?
Peter Herrera,
“That’s right, only by machine he’s being keeping alive.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
We know the police shot him but why?
Peter Herrera,
“Well it is hard for me to say why. First of all I was not there but
since three o’clock this morning I’ve been on this case and I managed to find at least two people who saw what happened and what they are telling me is completely different from the six or eight different stories that the police told me.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
In other words your brother did not threaten the police with a gun?
Peter Herrera,
“I would say that from what I see, definitely there was no threat to the police or to anybody with a gun or any other tools.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Why?
Peter Herrera,
“Well the two witnesses that I spoke to made it quite clear to me that he didn’t have anything in his hand. He had nothing on him, only his two empty hands and from the evidence that is there, because when you look at the bullet wounds, they are all from the back; in the back of the head, in the back of the body. It clearly shows that he was facing opposite direction from where the shot came.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
The police are also claiming that your brother had a gun on him. Do you believe your brother was armed?
Peter Herrera,
“I know for a fact my brother doesn’t own a gun. My brother never owned a gun. I am very close with my brother. I am in close contact with my brother all the time and he likes to drink but he is not a person that likes gun. He doesn’t own a gun.
Doctor says he is like a vegetable right now. His whole body is dead and his brain is shattered. Some splints from his skull are also mixed up with his brain.
I don’t say that they shouldn’t back their police officers but when you’re wrong you’re wrong. It is a life you’re dealing with. My brother Alex is not like an island. He doesn’t stand alone. He has family like myself and others who care for him and clearly we are feeling hurted about this whole situation.”
As the Herrera family reports their brother prognosis is not good as he is being kept alive by a machine. We are not sure if the police are aware of his condition but in the press release they state that upon Herrera’s release from the hospital he will face charges.
Police in their press release report that Alexander Herrera appeared to be intoxicated and was unable to communicate any information to them. Their version of the story is that Herrera was walking towards the riverside when a police officer observed that he was carrying a black handgun. Another police officer fired a single shot from his issued firearm and Herrera jumped into the river. The police claim that Herrera was later detained and an injury to his head was observed. That is when they transported him to the KHMH. The Herrera family says they will continue to fight for justice because there is no reason why their brother should have been shot.
