Chaos erupted in Paraiso village, Corozal last night when police got into a wild brawl with villagers.
It all started with a traffic stop but quickly escalated into police wielding batons and fists to suppress the arrestees.
And, of course, a good part of it was captured by cell phone cameras. Those videos went viral on social media today and today the commissioner addressed the allegations of excessive use of force. Here's more:
The footage depicts Corozal police - including a Corporal, a Sergeant and the Quick Response Team - throwing blows at a woman and lashing civilians with batons in Paraiso village. The Commissioner says they were responding to a traffic violation when residents started to show resistance:
Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police
"Well on Tuesday the 8th of July 2025 at approximately 7:00 pm, police officers attached to the Corozal police formation were escorting a complainant to the police station when their attention was drawn to a male person who was driving a motorcycle with no headlights illuminated. And the person was also not wearing a helmet. Police sought to stop the individual however he refused to stop and police then followed the individual to an area and upon detaining him and seeking to leave the location a group of individuals some of whom were armed with bottles surrounded the police mobile thereby preventing the police from leaving. The police officers then requested assistance from the quick response team who arrived at the location approximately 10 minutes later at which time the group of individuals who are relatives of the person who are detained were still preventing the police from having. The situation quickly escalated where several individuals were injured including four police officers."
And while the police narrative paints one version of events, the residents claim that they were brutally beaten and excessive force was used.
Camy Perez, CTV3
"We spoke to them and they are saying that 1 Miguel Salazar was assaulted by police and they went to look for him because he was confused, they were looking for a person in a domestic abuse issue and they thought it was him but at the end of the day he had nothing to do with it and when he was being detained that's when the issue escalated and even Miguel Salazar's father was punched in the face by one of the officers so we are getting a different version of what was reported to you when it comes to this incident after speaking with family members."
Voice of: Lilia Sanchez, Allege Police brutality
"Well the police started hitting my husband, they knocked him down, beat him and kicked him. They also grabbed my sister in law and hit her. And because he wouldn't stay still they kept hitting with the baton they had."
And seeing the video - one has to ask if the force used was proportional to the threat and if the situation could have been de-escalated.
The commissioner has since launched a criminal and a disciplinary investigation and concedes that officers behavior is inconsistent with the standard expected from police officers:
Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police
"I want to reaffirm our commitment to the principal of community policing which emphasizes de escalation, dialogue and mutual respect and these incidents that have recently transpired made us realise that there is a need to implement or reinforce these values."
Police detained 8 villagers pending investigation for Aggravated Assault, Wounding, Obstruction, Harm, Wounding and Damage to Property.
