Cecil Jenkin's Jr., he's the young musician who's making a name for himself as "Cocono Bwai", an entertainer who wants to see brukdown music survive and thrive in modern-day Belize. But, he claims that this weekend, a police officer who was patrolling his neighborhood in the Lake Independence area assaulted him for no reason.
He says that the officer, who he claims is from the Gang Suppression Unit, was along with another, and they were demanding identification from a group of young men in the area. He says that, as a law-abiding citizen and a youth living in a gang neighborhood, he tried to comply with the officer, who erroneously accused him of showing disrespect to his authority as a lawman.
That's misunderstanding allegedly led to Jenkins taking a few unearned punches to the head by this police officer, and he says, he isn't going to allow the officer to get away with it.
Here's what we told us when we caught up with him today:
Cecil "Cocono Bwai" Jenkins Jr. - Alleges Police Abuse
"Last night, the officer, a GSU officer, stopped in front of me, and ask me for my name. So, when I jumped out, he went to call the two other young guys to tell them, I want your names. The instructions he gave me were the give the officer in the passenger [seat] my name and my particulars. So, I went up to the officer with my driver's license, and I handed it to him. And when I handed it to him, he explained to me, maintain 6 feet social distance. So, I stepped back. And when I stepped back, I drew my breath to give him my name, Cecil Jenkins. So, Under my mask, I believe he felt that I sucked my teeth. And he questioned me, 'Why are sucking for teeth?' I told him that I wasn't sucking my teeth, and I was giving him my name. So, he walked toward me, and he said, 'You young boys, nowadays, act like it's you all who run things, and you all feel like you are bigger than us.' So, he then grabbed in my shirt, and he slammed me into the mobile. I was explaining to him that I did not suck my teeth at him. I was giving him my particulars, because he didn't want my license, with everything on it. So, he struck me again, and I asked him, 'Why did you hit me?' But, the way I was speaking to the man, and he struck me, I burst my lip and tongue. My teeth - you know - and I explained to the man if you said I disrespected you, Officer. Why don't detain me, arrest me, and charge me, instead of hit me? Then, when I was time for me to get my license, he said, 'I don't an F, who you are. You all act like you are this and that.' I guess the area that am I in is a gang area, and the man threw my license on the ground."
"Officers are out there doing their job, but then, officers are behaving like everyone is a gang member. That looks bad because where I live is where I live. I can't go anywhere else. Where I rest my head, is where I live."
Cocono Bwai tells us that this is the second officer that has assaulted him in this manner, and in the first instance, he did not press the issue against that cop. He says that in this instance, he will make sure to pursue it as far as he is allowed it. He tells us that he is in the process of making a formal complaint to the Professional Standards Branch.
