We turn now to a Facebook live video that went viral this weekend. In it, a female police officer, Constable Alicia Trapp, who is attached to the Belmopan Police Station, accused PUP's Julius Espat, the Area Representative for Cayo South. She claims that she was at the village council elections for Teakettle Village, Espat allegedly berated her verbally and pointed out that she was violating the rules of the police department by showing allegiance to the UDP village council slate.
Reports are that her common-law husband was one of the candidates running for the Chairman of the village. The problem is that it is against the police department's rules to be publicly associated with any mass party. Also, there is also a strict social media policy that officers must abide by.
So, she is now the subject of an investigation by the Professional Standards Branch for the political connection and the Facebook live broadcast. This morning, we asked her police boss, Commissioner Chester Williams, about the video, and here's what he had to say about it:
Chester Williams - Commissioner of Police
"Let me, first and foremost, say that I was sent that video footage yesterday by a number of persons, having seen a live [video] on social media. And upon receiving it, I listened to it from start to finish as I truly wanted to get a sense of what the issue was. Having listened to the video footage, even if we were to disregard her confrontation with the Honorable Julius Espat, as police officers, we do have a code of conduct, and we do not expect our members to be ranting and raging on social media the way she did. It certainly is a clear violation of our social media policy. That's one. Secondly, the Public Service Regulations, clearly stipulate that members and public officers are not supposed to engage in any political activity, or perhaps to show themselves to be preferential to certain political parties. And as much as she tried in her live [video] to make it seem as if she was out there as an independent-minded voter, and [it was] just a matter of coincidence that she was wearing a red shirt, in the same live [video] she did, she made mention to the fact that Alberto August was standing there with 'our' posters. So, she said 'our' posters, and it turned out that those posters that Alberto August had are UDP posters. So, she automatically aligned herself with the political party while she was out there which again goes against our regulations. And then, everybody knows the Honorable Espat to be a political - if you want to call it, a 'political animal', not in a bad way. And so, if it is that you put yourself in the political arena, you must take what comes to you. You can't get into a pig pen and not get muddy - don't expect to get muddy. It's simply that."
So, as you heard the Commissioner say, she will be investigated and will most likely face disciplinary charges for the scuffle with the elected politician. We asked the Commissioner what's the difference between her political alliance and the retiring Senior Superintendent, Daniel Arzu, who is running as a candidate for the Georgetown Village Council. Here's his distinction of the circumstances:
Chester Williams - Commissioner of Police
"It has been passed on to Professional Standards Branch and they will look at it and see where we go from there."
Daniel Ortiz
"So, she's at risk for disciplinary charges, sir?"
Chester Williams - Commissioner of Police
"Certainly."
Daniel Ortiz
"OK, so for our viewers, who will see our interview tonight on the news, how would you respond if they point out that you have the retiring Senior Superintendent, Mr. Arzu, who is also engaging in politics? You've made a distinction that he isn't involved in any specific mass party, but he is engaging in politics. What's the distinction there? Why is that one not against the police rules, but the other is?"
Chester Williams - Commissioner of Police
"As I said before, Mr. Arzu is proceeding on pre-retirement leave very shortly. For the most part, if he were to be elected the chairman of Georgetown, he would not be a police officer. He would be out by then. That's one. Two, he's not aligned with any political party. He is running as an independent, in the village of George Town. So, there's a clear distinction there when it comes to both individuals. So, I can't see how we can compare the two."
Daniel Ortiz
"What sanctions can this officer possibly face?"
Chester Williams
"I cannot speak to that at this time. I would be prejudging and I don't want to come across like that."
Today, we spoke via telephone with Julius Espat, and he strongly denied her allegations that he had aggressed her during the weekend. He claims that he pointed out to her that she was breaking the police rules and that she was the one who escalated the verbal exchange. He claims that he did not disrespect her as she claims in the live video.
