Belize City Businessman Says Police Keep Harassing Him

A Belize City businessman says he feels he is being unfairly targeted by the Belize Police Department, and he is begging them to stop. Thirty-seven-year-old Zach Fitzgibbon owns a grocery store on Victoria Street. The father of three also sells meat pies in front of Ebenezer Methodist Primary School in the mornings and collects pint bottles for resale. He says that despite his attempt to be a productive citizen, police officers have repeatedly locked him down, held him for 48 hours and then let him go without charging him. He says that the officers violated both him and his girlfriend on Tuesday night, when they detained them in connection with someone shooting at police officers at the New Road checkpoint. Despite officers arresting Clive Hendricks for the crime the following day, Fitzgibbon and his girlfriend were not released until this morning.

Fitzgibbon says that his worries all started last year when his shop was on Fabers Road, and a police officer promised to put him in jail. He wants his story told to raise awareness, saying that he knows others are going through the same thing.

Fitzgibbon stresses he does not have money for an attorney but may need to seek some form of legal assistance if the situation persists.