Young father loses his life after being injured in police pursuit

A young courier is dead, and the family is claiming that the Police are lying. It is an incident that involved a chase on the Belize Corozal Road that led into the Otro Benque Road, and then into Trial Farm near the San Martin gas station. As a result, 20-year-old, Jesus Sacul lost his life. The police have since launched an internal investigation into the Sacul’s death. Reporter Vejea Alvarez tells us more. 

Vejea Alvarez, Love FM News: In less than a week, 20-year-old Jesus Sacul would have been celebrating his son’s first birthday, but now his funeral is being planned after he died during a police pursuit on Monday night. The high-speed chase lasted for several minutes and ended at the Corner of San Martin Street and Otro Benque Road where Sacul and 19-year-old Jairo Guerra fell from the motorcycle they were traveling on. But what led to the crash? Police claim that the men slammed into the front of their truck, but Sacul’s family says they are lying. To get to the truth, police have since dispatched officers from the Professional Standards Branch to the town. But in the meantime, Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, says that the cops claim to have followed the men after seeing them exit a known drug dealer’s yard. 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police: “When the police saw the two individuals on the motorcycle. According to the police,  I was not there, they’re saying that they saw the pillion rider with what appeared to be a firearm. The police pursued them with the lights and siren on indicating for them to stop and despite the police using lights and sirens and indicating to them to stop, they did not stop. The pursuit continued through Trial Farm and ended up in front of a gas station, where according to the police again, the motorcycle rider last controlled of the motorcycle and collided into the fender of the police vehicle, falling to the ground.”

Vejea Alvarez, Love FM News: Guerra’s aunt then rushed the men to the Northern Regional Hospital, where Sacul succumbed to his injuries. His family says he was bleeding internally, but they haven’t ascertained what caused his death. His common-law wife, Alice Valdez, says the police’s story has several holes. She explained that the men couldn’t stop and compared the situation to that of 19-year-old Deandre Che, who was killed by police during a similar incident.

Alice Valdez, Common-Law Wife of Jesus Sacul: “I just still can’t believe it. I’m in shock. The way he was murdered I would say because okay many people would say “but why did they run from the police?” Nowadays you don’t trust the police. The police have uniforms and they think they could do anything that they want because they have uniforms. I mean that does not go like that they’re supposed to abide by the law as how they want all citizens to abide by the law. Jesus maybe, my point of view was they didn’t stop because he didn’t have a helmet. He didn’t have a helmet. From here he moved they went up the street, they went by Ludas right from there they came back because police was right behind them. They wanted to stop here they couldn’t stop because the police was like right behind them. If they had stopped the police would have crashed them the same way they did. If they would want to stop them why crash them they way they did and even run over them ? Because that is what we’re hearing.”

Vejea Alvarez, Love FM News: Sacul was a delivery man, and his family says he was a hard-working young father whose life was cut short. Valdez claims that the men were shot at during the pursuit and intentionally hit the police, who never showed up at the hospital.

Alice Valdez, Common-Law Wife of Jesus Sacul: “If it was such that they wanted to stop them yes it was a chase. They could have continued they would have stopped but why go to crash them ? Knowing that you can kill them because that is an accident. When a car crashes something or someone or anything it’s an accident and sometimes the persons survives, sometimes the person doesn’t but this they meant to do it.”

Vejea Alvarez, Love FM News: The officers alleged that before the accident Guerra was seen throwing an object to the side of the Highway and claimed to have found a pistol in the area. But Commissioner of Police Williams says the officers only found a pellet gun after returning to the scene. 

Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police: “The police did recover a firearm on the scene. They had said that prior to the accident the pillion rider threw an object away and when they went and checked they found a firearm which it looks like a 9mm pistol according to them but it turned out to be a pellet gun.”

Vejea Alvarez, Love FM News: It is yet to be ascertained if the officers will face any penalties for Sacul’s death. However, for his family, their suffering is just beginning. 

Alice Valdez, Common-Law Wife of Jesus Sacul: “It is just hard. It’s just hard to know that Jesus left behind an eleven month old baby. He will be one year next week. He was so excited. Now my baby is without a father. Why ? Because of police. Police brutality. And that was always – I don’t know those police they don’t think they just see a cycle and they want to run behind it thinking that they’re carrying anything. See what story they’re making up now ? That they had a gun. That they were coming out of a house that sells drugs. Which house ? Do you see any drugs here ?”

Vejea Alvarez, Love FM News: Sacul’s mother, Olina Gonzalez, explained that she is yet to fully grasp her son’s death and can’t believe he never made it back from the store. She says that while her son is dead his memory will live on and called on the police to provide them with justice they’re demanding.

Olina Gonzalez, Mother of Jesus Sacul: “Well I want them to investigate how what they did to him see if they tell the truth because they come out with their lies that it was not them. Lots of people saw it, that they crashed the motorcycle and they fell down. My son and the other one fell down. My son says that they ran over them with their vehicle. They ended up killing him. When he reached the hospital he was dead.”

Vejea Alvarez, Love News.