And, as you heard the minister discuss earlier, a police constable shot an innocent civillian this weekend.
20 year old Patricia Castillo was shot by an off duty police officer whilst riding shotgun in her father's car.
It happened at about 5:55pm, when he overtook a white car bearing no license plate on the left lane. That's when they heard two loud bangs and shortly after realized that Patricia had been shot in the side.
The man behind the gun was an off duty constable who somehow perceived a threat from the Castillo family vehicle and used lethal force - justification for which would seem difficult to come up with.
Still, tonight, he has not been charged - because the terrified family declined to press charges.
The commissioner didn't want to comment today, but Superintendent Romero told us more:
Sr. Supt., Hilberto Romero - Head NCIB
"On Saturday the 15th day of May 2021 police visited the KHMH where they found Patricia Castillo 20 years with a gunshot injury to the body. Information revealed that she was in a vehicle on the Phillip Goldson Highway when they heard loud bangs and she realized that she had been shot. Further investigation revealed that she was in the vehicle in the same area and he is alleging that the vehicle tried to run him off the highway and he fired shots causing the injury to Castillo."
Reporter:
"Was he on duty at the time?"
Sr. Supt., Hilberto Romero - Head NCIB
"He was not..."
"The firearm has been obtained and labeled as an exhibit at this time all pending the outcome of the investigation. An investigation is being conducted into this matter and at the end of this investigation, we will determine what will happen from there."
The young woman was rushed to the KHMH.
The Compol and the Quarantine Regs
It was the question on everyone's lips on Saturday night: Is there a curfew?
The previous S.I. had expired and the one in circulation mentioned only acceptable capacities for restaurants, nothing about a curfew.
Many were happy, seeing a bit of light at the end of the repressive curfew tunnel.
But John public was getting just a bit too excited and that's when Compol Williams swooped in to burst that bubble.
He started by posting a status informing everyone that the curfew had been extended for another 30 days but it seems that wasn't enough and about two hours later the COMPOL posted another status, this one accompanied by S.I. 52 which specifically listed the imposed curfew and it's extension.
And this morning he told us that posting S.I.'s is a courtesy that he's in no way obligated to carry out.
Cherisse Halsall:
"On Saturday you posted that the midnight curfew would continue despite not having seen an S.I. and then two hours later we saw S.I. 52 suddenly appear, why did the S.I. appear after your pronouncement and was it even gazetted which is to say did it carry the force of the law?"
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"I was the one that posted the Gazette and may I say that I am under no obligation to post any gazette as the case may be, some people seemingly believe that I have a duty to post it. I don't even have a duty to inform people of what the law is, my duty is to enforce the law, but as a matter of courtesy, as a matter of being fair to people I saw the need to inform them of the extension of the curfew. And since I saw that a number of persons were challenging the correctness of my post I eventually posted the S.I. and you said you question whether or not it is gazetted, right there on the S.I. it says that it is gazetted I think on the 15th day of May 2021, so yes the S.I. is gazetted and it does carry the force of law. Again I try to do this so as not to have the public caught off guard being issued a ticket for curfew without them knowing that the curfew does in fact exist."
Kareem On Extending Curfew
We also asked Minister Kareem Musa about what seemed like a last minute cut and paste SI in the waning hours of the day the previous one was to expire. He assured us that Cabinet had already discussed it and the decision to keep the current curfew in place was a practical one because of the recently discovered cluster at the Princess Casino.
He added that the main reason for the nightly curfew is to keep clubs-turned-restaurants from easily transitioning back during the later hours. He noted that patrons sometimes go from eating at table to dancing and mingling as the hours pass by.
Musa also stated that when discussing the curfew, the Cabinet ministers also consider the situation in neighboring countries before deciding to extend or change it.
Fleeting Fame For Iris At Ms. Universe
The Miss Universe Journey came to end for all but one contestant last night. When Mexico was crowned as the organization's global ambassador.
As for Belize's contestant, Iris Salguero she made an admirable showing and was even featured in one of the night's more poignant discussions on gender based violence. But she wasn't able to sinch any of those top 20 spots.
And while it's a disappointing finish to Iris's Miss Universe journey. Her many fans and supporters would say that's it's upwards and onward for the San Pedrana who will be eagerly and excitedly welcomed home.
