By Belize Live News Staff: Amid heightened scrutiny over law enforcement’s links to organized crime, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams has taken decisive action. A veteran police officer, reportedly linked to drug cartels through a note found beside murder victim Raheem Usher, has been dismissed from the Belize Police Department.
Williams had initially given the officer a chance to defend himself, but was unsatisfied with the explanation. In his dismissal letter, the Commissioner cited the “serious nature” of the allegations and the need to protect the department’s integrity.
Speaking broadly about corruption within the force, Williams declared that officers must choose between loyalty to the cartel or the badge. “We have to part ways,” he said. “There’s no room for them to be police officers.”
The officer retains the right to appeal to the Belize Advisory Council, but his future within the Belize Police Department appears bleak as the department steps up efforts to root out internal corruption.
