Exactly one month ago, shocking video surfaced of Police Sergeant Devon Makin pistol whipping 22 year old San Pedro resident, Ryan Melendez. Police claim Makin was responding to a complaint from a 13 year old who said he was being chased by two masked men. But Melendez says he had no part in that, and requested court action for the unprovoked assault. The Commissioner of Police authorized the Professional Standards Branch to investigate, but so far, Makin has not been made to face any administrative consequence or criminal charge.
But, it seems, one other cop is facing the consequence. The police corporal who took the statement from the 13 year old minor was transferred from San Pedro to Belize City effective August first. And why? Well, information to our newsroom suggests that higher up's in the department sympathetic to Makin - weren't happy with the statement he took from the minor. It did not implicate Melendez in any wrongdoing. And that's why when Melendez turned himself into San Pedro police there was no charge for him.
As we understand it, the statement - which was witnessed by a justice of the peace - only spoke about two unidentified men running and one of them had his face covered. The minor told police he feared for his safety, but did not identify any specific threat and did not say the men were armed. This is salient, because police have said that Makin used force to detain Melendez because they claim the initial information said he was armed.
Sources tell us that those officers sympathetic to Makin's godfather. - who is police Commissioner Williams -felt that the officer recording the statement deliberately did not advise the minor properly so that they could establish the identity of the person who was chasing them.
