Police Officer Dismissed for Fatally Shooting Governor General’s Dog

The Belize Police Department has dismissed a cop for shooting and killing one of the Governor General’s dogs. The cop was on duty at the Government House when he pulled his service weapon and fatally shot the dog. The incident was reported to the Professional Standards Branch and resulted in the cop being dismissed. Today, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams spoke on the situation and why the cop was not fit to serve in the department. 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police: “As I’ve said before that in other interviews, we really and truly do our best to hold officers accountable. If we don’t, you the media would be right up our A, right? But we don’t do it because we don’t want it to be intrusive in us, right? We do it because it’s the right thing to do. The public requires accountability from us. And that’s why when people say that me as commissioner I am too much in the media and this, that, that. I don’t believe I’m in the media enough because as a public official, I am accountable to the public. And this is my way of accounting to the public in terms of what we do. So when it comes to police officers who commit these grave infractions we have to do what is right. The matter went before a tribunal. The tribunal found him guilty. Dismissal was recommended and I upheld the decision of the adjudicator. I believe that, and I’m sure that the public in a whole is going to agree, that if you have a policeman who deliberately follows a dog and shoot and kill the dog, something wrong with you?”

According to prior reports from police, the dog was known to be aggressive.