A high-profile shooting incident on a Belizean cattle farm has sparked competing narratives between law enforcement and a former soldier, leaving one man injured, his pet dog dead, and the community demanding clarity over what exactly unfolded on August 6, 2026.
The confrontation took place at Richard Cal’s private agricultural property in Pomona Village, located within Stann Creek District, where plainclothes police officers had been conducting covert surveillance operations. Since the incident, two vastly different accounts of the sequence of events have been presented to the public.
Speaking on behalf of the Belize Police Department, Assistant Superintendent Stacy Smith, a staff officer with the force, has publicly confirmed the official police narrative: that Cal was the first to draw and fire his licensed weapon at the officers during a roadside interaction on the property. In response to the reported initial attack, Smith says the plainclothes officers returned fire, striking Cal in the leg. Cal was immediately evacuated to receive emergency medical care, while crime scene technicians were called in to process the area and collect physical evidence. According to Smith, investigators have already recovered multiple pieces of evidence that are considered valuable to the ongoing probe.
Cal, however, has pushed back hard against the official account, maintaining that he only pulled the trigger in self-defense. The former Belize Defence Force soldier claims that the men who approached his property did not identify themselves as police until after they had shot him first, leading him to reasonably believe he was facing an unknown threat.
In addition to his physical injury from the shooting, Cal now faces three criminal counts of aggravated assault with a firearm. He was arraigned at the Dangriga Magistrates Court last Friday, and has since been remanded into custody at Belize Central Prison as the legal process moves forward.
When pressed by reporter Shane Williams on whether Cal’s reasonable belief of an imminent threat — given that the officers were not in uniform — would be considered in the investigation, Smith declined to elaborate on granular details of the case. Smith did acknowledge that the department expects all officers, regardless of whether they are in uniform or working undercover, to properly identify themselves during interactions with the public. He also pushed back on the idea that the case hinges solely on conflicting testimony between Cal and the involved officers, noting that physical evidence from the crime scene and medical examinations of Cal’s injury will help investigators piece together what actually occurred, with medical experts set to weigh in on how the wound was sustained.
The police department has also confirmed it is conducting a separate internal review to determine whether the officers’ use of return fire was legally justified under department policy and national law. For Cal’s family, however, the immediate concern is his well-being in custody. Cal’s wife has told reporters that the family fears for his safety behind bars, as his leg injury has severely limited his mobility, leaving him vulnerable to harm in a prison setting.
This report is adapted from a transcribed broadcast of original evening news coverage.