This afternoon, Assistant Superintendent Fitzroy Yearwood granted the media a briefing on this incident, and he took on a few tough questions about Constable Dawson's rebuttal of the official version of events.
We start first with his summary of the accident in Corozal which eventually led to Dawson's shooting.
Yearwood said that Dawson made a big mistake when he drove off from the scene of an accident:
ASP Fitzroy Yearwood - Communications Officer
"From what I have gathered so far, an accident took place in the Corozal Jurisdiction, where a young lady, Mossiah, alleged that she was driving a Ford vehicle, and it collided with a JAC pick-up, driven at the time by Police Constable Dawson. Now, the officers are alleging that when they were processing the scene, Mr. Dawson got into his vehicle and drove off from. All of us know that laws clearly state that fleeing the scene of an accident or a crime, would raise a lot of questions."
"He's alleging that he left the scene because, from watching his video, he believes that some form of collusion was happening. If you believe that collusion is going against you, you don't have to flee an accident scene. You will have your say. He should have waited on that scene and allow them to process."
"It is alleged that Corozal Police contacted Orange Walk police, and Orange Walk police set up a vehicular checkpoint, where they allege that he drove through that checkpoint, also. In his video, he stated that he was trying to reach his base in Belize City, GI3 compound, where he believes he would have been safer. I don't know why. In my honest opinion, it was only a minor traffic accident, and it ended up going bad."
"It is very unfortunate that we are nursing one of our own, and we are investigating our own, but at the end of the day, it is our obligation to find the truth and reveal the truth to the general public."
"I know that the Commissioner of Police has ordered an internal investigation into this matter. I know that both Orange Walk and Corozal Police Officers are investigating this incident because, 1, the traffic accident allegedly happened in Corozal, and this shooting incident occurred in Orange Walk. So, it automatically includes 2 different jurisdictions and Internal Affairs."
We also asked Yearwood to comment on the use of lethal force, and whether or not it was justifiable under the circumstances. He insisted that the investigation from the Professional Standards Branch must be concluded before that answer will become clear:
ASP Fitzroy Yearwood - Communications Officer
"The fact remains, leaving that scene you automatically changed your right into a wrong because if it was a civilian, they would have been pursued, and hopefully, the result wouldn't have been the same."
"There was no reason for fleeing that scene, even if you believe that collusion was taking place. Nobody lost their life. You could have stayed there. There was nothing detrimental to him."
Reporter
"Why would the officers open fire with such aggression?"
ASP Fitzroy Yearwood
"As I said, earlier, I read the police report, and I saw Mr. Dawson's rebuttal in his interview, and the police officers are claiming that Mr. Dawson opened fire on them. The only way will know if this force was excessive, is at the conclusion of this independent investigation that the Commissioner has ordered, and I am certain that the investigations at Professional Standards Branch are very capable, and they will give us, at the end of the day, who is at fault, or whether or not excessive force was used."
"We, the Police Department, members of the department have chosen neither side into whether the officers were right Mr. Dawson was right, or the officers on that scene used excessive force. But, I can assure you that if it is proven, either way, that person will be held accountable for what they did out there yesterday."
The Professional Standards Branch will also have to look into the fact that he appeared on the roster of active on duty cops last night in the city - even though he was in the Belmopan Hospital. This is a breach of conduct by another officer which is being investigated.
We note that Constable Dawson and his wife have received an outpouring of support on Facebook, and testimonials insist that he is a law-abiding officer who interacts positively with the members of the communities he has served.
