Dear Editor,
I’d like to commend two sets of individuals that acted in the best interests of our community the other day. The incident that gave rise to my admiration was the unfortunate occurrence where some bad cops tried to intimidate and extort money from a visitor to our shores. This was a terrible act of dishonesty and put all of us, not only we of the island, but all of Belize in an unfavorable light. It made the world think that we are not a nation of laws or an orderly society.
The whole story is far from that conclusion; and why I have taken this time to commend the actions of two sets of people. First I’d like to commend the unfortunate victim in all of this. Thank you for believing in the true nature of San Pedro and believing that those cops were not representative of either the island or the police force. Thank you for standing up and having faith that the people you have met and interacted with during your stay on the island reflected the true nature of the Belizean people, and thank you for the faith that you showed that we would not let this injustice stand in our community.
Secondly I’d like to commend the San Pedro Police Department who stood up and followed the law, followed the oath they all took to protect the people of this community, even when they had to act against one of their own. Thank you for showing that anyone can come to you for help, for showing that a few bad actors are not representative of the good hard working officers that we see every day.
When we talk about this event, and read in the papers the negative things people will inevitably say, let us remember that in the end, justice prevailed, and the police did a good job when they were notified and that no one is above the law, even those charged to enforce it. Our response to this event is that we on the island stood strong in the face of crime and proved that San Pedro is a place we can all be proud of, and proud of our police department.
Nick Scavone
Proud Member of the San Pedro Belize Tourism Industry Association
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