Tonight, two infants from the Orange Walk District are without their fathers after two separate traumatic incidents took these young men's lives.
We start in the town where the Northern Regional Hospital was pelted with rocks after the police killed another young man on motorcycle - this one a 20 year old. But it wasn't like in March when they shot and killed 19 year old Dyandre Chi. This time the police ran over Jesus Sacul, fatally injuring him. It has stoked angry passions in the town because another young life is gone - if not at the hands of police, then certainly under their wheels. Jomarie Lanza spoke to the grieving mother and common law wife today who feel it is another case of the use of excessive force by the police. Her story begins with Facebook video posted by various civilians of a riotous episode at the hospital:
This is the scene of chaos that descended upon the Northern Regional Hospital on Monday night after the community learned that yet another one of their motorcyclists had been killed during a high speed chase involving police.
20 year old Jesus Sacul and his cousin 19 year old Jairo Guerra are Orange Walk's most recent victims of what their families have described as police brutality and excessive use of force which led to Sacul's death.
Voice of: Olina Gonzalez, Mother of Deceased
"They chased my son around the corner by the river when I heard the gunshots nearby. It was two of them, my son and my other grandson. My grandson was driving and my son was his passenger. He left shortly after 7. We had just finished eating and he told me we are coming back right now and we are going for a ride. And I told them don't go, you already ate where are you going? And so they left, but they didn't take long, when I heard the motorcycle coming back again. I told my other daughter the boys are coming back again but I think the police are following them. I came out running to check on them and I saw that it was them. They were coming and the police were behind them. The police purposely hit them, they were really close coming down by the curve. And when I heard the gunshots I knew that they had killed my son."
Fearing for her son's life, Gonzalez sent her daughters out to check on both boys, only for them to return and tell her that Jesus and Jairo had been knocked off their motorcycle by police near the Uno Gas station.
Both were extensively injured.
Voice of:Olina Gonzalez, Mother of Deceased
"The police struck them with the mobile. Struck the motorcycle and they fell. They even ran over my son with the truck they killed him. They killed him and that's an injustice, and my son isn't an animal that they can just kill. I want Justice for my son because the police have gotten accustomed to killing people. They are only looking out for you just to kill you later. And this won't end, it's going to continue."
By the time the family got both boys to the hospital, Sacul was on the verge of death. He had two broken ribs, abrasions all over his body, and was bleeding from his head, mouth and ears. And though Guerra survived, Gonzalez says that he is now suffering from memory loss and refuses to believe that Sacul passed away.
Voice of: Alicia Valdez, Common law wife of deceased
"I just can't believe it. I'm in shock. The way he was murdered I would say, because many people would say but why did they run from the police? Nowadays you can't trust the police. The police they have uniforms. They think they can do anything that they want because they have a uniform."
"The police don't think they just see a cycle and want to run behind thinking that they have something with them. What story are they making up now? They have a gun that they were coming out from a house that sells drugs? Which house? Do you see any drugs here?"
"It's just hard to know that Jesus leaves behind an 11 month old baby. He will be one year next week he was like so excited, now my baby stay without a father. Why? because of police, police brutality."
The victim who survived, Jairo Guerra, is still being treated for head injuries and had to be brought to the city for a CT scan this afternoon.
