Eight months ago, the Governor General's dog was shot and killed by a police officer, but no one outside the department knew and the story went unreported. When 7News asked the Commissioner about it on Wednesday, he gave a clear cut story - the adjudicator recommended dismissal and so the officer was let go.
But that one statement opened a can of worms, because as it turns out, the adjudicator did not recommend the officer's dismissal. And surveillance footage shows that indeed the dog was barking at the officer.
Whether lethal force was justifiable is another question, but today the ComPol came clean about his error. Meanwhile the officer has turned to the court of public opinion. Courtney Menzies has this story.
In May 2024, PC Deandre Reid was fined $250 for fatally shooting the Governor General's dog. Two months later, he was dismissed. On Wednesday, the Commissioner said that the dismissal was on the recommendation of the adjudicator. However a leaked document show that the recommendation was actually the basic fine of $250.00 and that it was the ComPol that elevated the punishment.
On the surface it seems as if the ComPol was being purposely untruthful. But today he explained that, actually, he just made a mistake.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"You see how many times all of you media houses would post information that is inaccurate. To some extent, the inaccuracy could cause persons to go into psychiatric shock. It simply means that we're human beings, nobody is infallible. I deal with many things everyday, I read several notes of evidence on a daily basis. And certainly after the news, somebody called me and said, no boss, it was not that the adjudicator recommended dismissal. Reid pled guilty and he was fined and you were the one who upped the penalty. I said, oh yes, and the next morning when I went to work I did check the file and indeed I erred in saying that the adjudicator recommended dismissal."
"In the circumstances, considering the nature of what the officer did, I exercised by power under the police act and I upped the punishment from a fine to a dismissal."
Courtney Menzies:
"But did it really need to come to this because in diaries, officers had noted that this dog is aggressive. I read two diary entries, one of them said that the officer before him told him not to do any patrols during this time when the dog is out because it's aggressive. Couldn't you or somebody have spoken to the GG and said, you know your dog is really bothering our officers, we fear your dog may bite one of our officers?"
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"I was not aware of any previous issues. Like I said, I don't go to that level of micromanagement, that would have been something that perhaps the OC of the Belmopan station would have been familiar with, but me personally no, I did not know of that."
But in fact, multiple diary entries noted the dog's aggressive behavior. And in a 4 part tell-all, Reid explained that he was even warned by the officer who he was replacing at the GG's residence. Reid took to social media to tell his side of the story:
PC Deandre Reid
"The dog pushed its head at the door and barked at me three, four times. Put me in a state of shock, I was frightened because I didn't know it would've come to bark at the door like that. I got up to shoo it, when he saw me get up, he ran away from the door. In my mind I said this dog went about his business."
"I stepped out of the booth and I didn't see the dog, I felt like it was gone. I made four steps towards the street because the booth is located right beside the street."
"I walked towards the street not seeing the dog and when I reached the corner of the booth, I saw the dog at the side. Before I saw him I heard him because the dog started to growl. i saw him around the corner of the booth. So I froze, I tried to shoo him again, I told him, get. But it wasn't paying mind to me at all. It started to behave aggressive."
"So I made two more big steps backwards towards the booth and that's when the dog charged at me. So I spun and I ran to reach in the booth but before I got into the booth, it's almost at my foot to bite me so I fired off one shot in his direction."
He then explained that he realized he had caught the dog in his head, killing him. He then called for the GG and her husband, who reportedly told him to empty his weapon, which he said he did.
Reid also said that officers before him were using a can of pepper spray to defend themselves, but that the can was finished by the time he took over.
Still, despite this explanation, the ComPol said the video shows differently:
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"I will ask you the questions. You saw the dog arrive at the dog, right? The police was sitting down, correct? When the dog reach the door, the dog saw the police. The dog made an about turn and retreated, correct? When the dog retreated, the police got up, went out of the booth, correct? And followed the dog, correct? And then he shot the dog. Did you see any aggression on the part of the dog? Yes or no?"
Reporter:
"Yes."
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"I guess you saw a different video. I saw no aggression, I saw a situation where, the dog arrived at the door, saw the police, retreated, and the police following the dog and shot the dog."
"Would I also be right to saw that had he not followed the dog, if what you are saying that the dog attacked him, the dog would not have attacked him?"
Reporter:
"Sir but you..."
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"No man, answer my question. Yes or no."
Reporter:
"He would've been safe inside the booth is what you are saying?"
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"Exactly, am I not right to say that?"
Reid said that when he learned of the dismissal, he was given the opportunity to write the ComPol to explain why he should keep his job. He then wrote a 3 page letter, but to no avail. His case is now before the Belize Advisory Council, and Williams has committed to following whatever decision the council makes.
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"He's not a bad police, that's the truth. He came from a good family, his mother is a police officer, very good police woman. She's reliable, dependable, high integrity. He came from a good family. There are certain decisions I have to make as the commissioner of police that are not easily made and it's not going to be popular but I make those decisions because I think it's the right thing to do. This is one such decision. The family is aggrieved by the decision that I made, they have a right which I believe they're currently doing to appeal to the advisory council. The matter goes to the advisory council, if the advisory council, in their wisdom, decide that the dismissal was too harsh and reverse my decision to dismiss, I will be guided by the advisory council."
The family claims the police department has not submitted everything to the Advisory Council, but the ComPol says that up to yesterday, everything has been submitted, including the video.
