But while that's the COMPOL's position, one eyewitness who captured video of the altercation on the bridge has a totally different view.
He feels strongly that the police could have talked Ramos down instead of continuing to fire bullet after bullet, and he was also concerned for the safety of the wider public and passing cruise visitors during the shocking incident in the heart of downtown.
He's known Ramos all his life - and saw his friend's life end painfully, and he believes unnecessarily.
Our Eyewitness chose to appear off-camera.
Voice of Eyewitness
"An Inspector lady was walking past and I don't know what he told the lady or what she told the young man, but I saw the inspector lady start running off the bridge. When she ran off of the bridge I saw an amount of police start coming and we heard about 15 shots start bus and we hollered to tell them you can't be doing this in public because an innocent lady and a baby were walking on the bridge at the same time and the lady had to run off the bridge with her pram and her baby before they could have been shot innocently."
"Corporal Mangar told the man seize fire you know you don't have to shoot this man, seize fire let me talk to this man because I know this man and the man went against this corporal's order and was still shooting and we hollered and told the man-boy just stop hold it down so that we can go and talk to the man on your behalf. About three to four seconds mammy every minute you hear shots firing shots firing all over by bucket bar."
"You could have easily stopped and talked to this man and gotten the knife from this man, you didn't have to shoot the man like that and give the man so much shots because the man isn't a dog, the man has family."
"How would they have felt if that was one of their family they had hurt like that, they would have wanted justice you know and all I have to say to Mr. Chester with due respect and everything Mr. Chester you need to put your policeman they in check, respect and manners and everything Mr. Chester because this is going really out of control."
"The inspector woman god didn't sleeping mammy, who caused all of this and made Mr. Ramos lose his life this morning and one thing I want to say god isn't sleeping and one thing I have to say over and over it hurt me because I know that man from I small."
"You have to put a justice to this because watch this. They killed a man on swing bridge, a policeman walks free and directly what will happen, we won't have tourists in Belize, people will be afraid to walk Albert street, business places will shut. Down and that will happen in public. Innocent people could get hurt."
