The Belize Police Department is currently facing intense public scrutiny after two separate domestic violence allegations against serving officers emerged, prompting a formal response from the force’s top official and reigniting long-simmering debates about internal accountability for abuse within law enforcement ranks.
The first case sparked widespread public outrage after a graphic video of the incident circulated rapidly across social media platforms. The accused officer, Constable Phillip Garbutt, saw criminal charges against him dropped, a decision that immediately drew condemnation from community members and critics of the department. In a second, unrelated case, Government Intelligence Intelligence Unit (GI3) officer Mercedes Chiac was taken into custody on felony assault charges for allegedly abusing his wife. Chiac is now scheduled to appear in court, while also facing ongoing internal disciplinary proceedings from the police department itself.
In an on-the-record interview with local outlet News Five, Police Commissioner Richard Rosado stressed that the department treats all domestic violence allegations against its personnel with the highest level of seriousness. “When individuals in positions of trust face allegations of this sort, it not only harms the victim, but it also erodes the community trust in the police department,” Rosado explained. “Hence the reason we have always taken decisive action both criminally and internally against those individuals.”
Beyond the two active cases, the allegations have prompted broader questions about what systemic measures the department has in place to prevent domestic abuse among officers, many of whom work under high-stress conditions that can exacerbate personal conflict. Opposition Senator Sheena Pitts recently tabled a proposal requiring mandatory regular psychological assessments for all serving officers to identify and address warning signs before incidents occur.
Rosado pushed back on the call for new policy, noting that existing support and intervention systems are already operational for department personnel. He pointed to the Lotus Center, a government-established wellness initiative, and an on-staff counselor available to officers who show early signs of personal or behavioral distress. “I would challenge [the opposition] to provide us with some tangible, concrete solution and we will embrace it,” Rosado said, adding that the department already operates an early warning system that directs at-risk officers to support services as soon as potential issues are identified.
One persistent procedural challenge in domestic violence prosecutions nationally is the common issue of victims withdrawing their statements, which often leaves prosecutors without sufficient evidence to move forward with a case. When asked if the department would support policy changes to limit adult victims’ ability to withdraw statements in domestic abuse cases involving officers, Rosado acknowledged the complexity of the issue.
“In terms of adults without a complainant, it’s challenging, because we need a complainant,” he said. But he noted the department has already implemented a workaround for high-risk cases: “In some cases what we have done, we have recorded statements in the presence of a Justice of the Peace, so that it’ll be admissible in court. So we do have an avenue in how to address that.” For cases involving minor victims, Rosado added, a formal inter-agency protocol with the Ministry of Human Development and the national magistracy is already in place to guide proceedings.
Currently, law enforcement officials are working to reinstate the dropped charges against Garbutt, while Chiac has been placed on administrative interception pending the outcome of his criminal and internal cases. Still, many members of the Belizean public remain critical of what they describe as glacial progress in holding accused officers accountable. For many observers, the core issue is not the department’s formal policies, but the slow pace of action when law enforcement’s own personnel are accused of violent abuse. This report was prepared by Zenida Lanza for News Five.