And another family in Belize City also spent last night worried about some of their own. While there were no fatalities, three men were detained after police visited a yard on Queen Charlotte Street to break up an illegal gathering. But like many times before, things did not go smoothly, and cellphone video shows the men resisting arrest and the police roughing up and and pepper spraying the defiant detainees.
And while it is within the law to stop an illegal gathering, the head of the household felt like it was a targeted attack since police had allegedly harassed and assaulted his family before.
Today, Courtney Menzies spoke with him and got his side of the story. Here is her report.
Last night, members of the GI3 stormed a yard on Queen Charlotte Street, dragging out persons who were inside and dousing them in pepper spray.
The officers were called to the scene to break up a party, which is considered an illegal gathering under the COVID regulations.
Today, when we visited the scene of the chaos, the head of the household explained that it was only immediate family inside the yard, where his store is located, and that they were getting ready to head home when the police descended a hurricane in the night.
Norris Meighan, Father
"I was at my place of business here last night when my children, my son and their spouses and they were celebrating the birthday of one of my son. We were already prepared to disburse about minutes to 9 because we closed the establishment from 8:30. So the police came and I approached the commanding officer *Mr Martinez* and I explained to him that we are having a celebration of the birthday of my son and we are prepared to disburse. And he looked at me and he looked at everybody and he say he don't like how I'm speaking to him so I ask him how do you want me to speak to you? I'm explaining to you what's happening. And he turned away and told me he is going to arrest everybody for social gathering. Now everybody he was talking about, the most is ten to thirteen people and everybody was relative."
Meighan's son, Romario Meighan, spent the night of his 27th birthday in police custody, along with Meighan's cousin and his cousin's son, Dean and Dylan Belisle.
But videos show that they did not go peacefully back to the station. They were beaten and pepper sprayed, with warning shots fired into the air.
Norris Meighan, Father
"After that they had altercations with the youth while the were arresting them. He arrested my son and put him in the vehicle. When he was sitting in the vehicle, they were bringing his cousin to put him in the vehicle but an officer start to choke my son from behind and the cousin that they're putting in the vehicle start to retaliate, he refused to go in the vehicle when he saw what was happening. I guess he get agitated and think that when he get in the vehicle they would do him the same so he refused to go in the vehicle. And it escalated, his father get involved."
Initial reports had indicated that the family retaliated by pelting the police with pint bottles, however, Meighan denied those claims, saying that if they had thrown bottles, the police would have shot them.
Norris Meighan, Father
"Now for them to come and say we attacked them and we were throwing missiles at them is outrageous. They try to cover up their blatant act of abuse. And I'm still at a loss why every time they come here, well, it looks like a crowd because I have seven sons. And I really agree that sometimes they have some of their friends with them or people that work with us that dive with us so you'll see 15/20 youths sometimes in this year. But what they are doing, they are working, they are building lobster shade, they are repairing their boat, and getting ready to go out to sea."
"Nobody throw no pints, I don't know who came with that, pelting who? If anybody had pelted them with pints they would have retaliated with bullets."
And Meighan is also concerned since he says that police have been constantly harassing him and his sons.
Norris Meighan, Father
"I have my next son upstairs with a broken ribs that two days ago, the police came right here and arrest him from here, and when they took him in the vehicle, they start beating him and fracture his ribs, and he's a diver he can't dive now for probably six months. So I just want to know why the level of harassment."
Meighan fears for the lives of his children. He has met with an attorney and is planning to take up lawsuits against the department for what he believes is the constant unjust harassment of his sons.
Norris claims that the officer that came last night had already slapped his 18-year-old while the young man was sitting at home with the flu.
He also told us that an officer had held a gun to his 89-year-old mother while she was resting on the verandah.
He says he believes the police are targeting them because they are related to gang members in the Banak Street area.
Now, what about the police side of the story? Earlier today, the media asked the police department for a statement on the matter. An hour ago, the communications officer, Inspector Fitzroy Yearwood stated quote, "I was hoping that our investigation would have reached a point where charges would have been levied….against those that were involved in that attack against the Police last night on Queen Charlotte Street, but unfortunately not as yet." End quote.
