Last night, we told you how the Supreme Court had ordered the Government of Belize to pay damages to Leon Duncan, a police brutality victim, of almost a quarter million dollars. He is the man who officers severely injured while they were responding to a crime in progress in August of 2019.
He said that two cops beat him severely, and one stamped on his legs, breaking them both.
The cops tried to convince the presiding judge that Duncan had made the entire thing up and that he had broken his legs while trying to escape from the crime scene. Justice Lisa Shoman concluded that the officers were not very convincing in their denial, and that Duncan was the most credible witness out of everyone who gave testimony and evidence.
Today our 7News team got a chance to speak with Duncan, and Daniel Ortiz has that story of how that day changed his life:
When we first met Leon Duncan in 2019, he was bruised and battered, and he was heavily bandaged. Both legs were broken, and there was real concern that he would not be able to walk.
Today, after three years of struggle and determination, he arrived at our office - without a wheelchair - standing on his own two feet, his mobility still intact, even after police almost robbed him of that.
Leon Duncan - Won Brutality Case
"This incident affected me very badly because I lost my job. I didn't have any income to take care of my kids. I had to lean on my mom and my sister. They took care of everything for me. I give thanks for that."
Daniel Ortiz
"Tell us about the foreign objects that are now in your body."
Leon Duncan
"Actually, I still have steel in my legs. I can't lift any weights again because of that. I can't do any heavy lifting. I can't walk too far, or else I will have to take a rest. So, it really changed my life."
"Right now, I still have pain in my legs every so often, like when the weather changes, if I do too much walking, as I said. I still stay in pain up to now. It changed the way I walked, a big difference. It left me with a bow leg because, at first, my legs used to be straight."
Over the years, we have talked with many alleged victims of police brutality. They all insist that they would seek justice for the atrocities they were forced to suffer.
But few have been bold enough to sue the department; and even fewer have been awarded court-ordered damages.
That's why Leon Duncan's massive win in the Supreme Court is so important. He demonstrated that no matter how many officers collaborate in a cover up, cold, hard facts can still win out.
Even though he was just one man challenging the accounts of several officers, his evidence and testimony were more than enough to convince a Supreme Court judge:
Daniel Ortiz
"How did you convince the court to believe you, against them, and the many things they tried to say that you're a liar and that you're lying on them?"
Leon Duncan - Won Brutality Case
"I stuck to the truth all along, and the truth is what will set you free. With all they were trying to hide, that they didn't do this or didn't do that, with the help of Mr. Sylvestre, he caught them in a lot of lies."
Daniel Ortiz
"Okay, so you thought the cross-examination was important to expose those lies."
Leon Duncan
"Yes, because, as I said, Mr. Sylvestre crossed questioning them. He did a very good job in cross-questioning them. The judge understood more that my words - my statement was the truth."
Daniel Ortiz
"Tell us about how you were able to identify them positively, that these are the people who ill-treated me in their custody."
Leon Duncan
"Because I saw them. You can't forget somebody's face who did this damage to you. If somebody hurt you this much, you could never forget their face."
Daniel Ortiz
"But you also knew them before."
Leon Duncan
"Before, yes."
And while he summed up the victory so simply as sticking to the truth, there were key personalities who acted as his support system during his many years of recovery and as stewards of his Supreme Court lawsuit.
Leon Duncan
"First of all, I wanna thank Miss Segura for believing in me, taking the case, putting the case together, and working with me. I wanna thank Mr. Sylvestre for believing in me, taking on the case, and finishing the case. I wanna thank the court for justice, justice well served. I think they gave me a fair trial. I wanna thank my sister and my mom for being there for me when I couldn't move and taking care of the kids."
"I just want to say thanks to Dr. Waight because, from the beginning of the incident, he was there for me. He everything he could have done for me he did."
Duncan told us that he hopes that other legitimate abuse victims will fight for their rights the way that he did.
Leon Duncan
"People need to know. Society needs to know what the police are doing out there. So, I didn't fear. I needed to prove my point that I was telling the truth. So, I never really feared them in any kind of way."
"I want society to see that you can't fear in challenging the system. They did wrong. If they did you wrong, you can't have any fear of challenging them."
So, is he looking over his shoulder constantly since the 2019 beatdown?
Daniel Ortiz
"Were there any instances where you saw them? They're approaching you menacingly. They're following you. Anything like that since the judgment?"
Leon Duncan
"The last time I went to court, I was approached by, yeah, one of the officers, which I told my attorney about. For a minute, I felt like I had a little fear. You have a little fear in you because you don't know what they are thinking."
Daniel Ortiz
"I guess you're just going to pursue being a law-abiding citizen and hope for the best."
Leon Duncan
"Correct."
Justice Shoman has ordered the government to pay Duncan 175 thousand dollars as general damages in 17 monthly installments. The judge also ordered the defendants to pay $8,522.22 in special damages.
And finally, she ordered the government to pay his court costs of $20,000.
