Cop Walks Free After Domestic Violence Case Withdrawn in Court

A police officer at the center of a widely circulated domestic dispute case is tonight a free man, after criminal charges against him were withdrawn in court earlier today.  39-year-old Phillip Garbutt, attached to the Traffic Support Unit of the Belize Police Department, walked free after appearing before a magistrate in court.  Garbutt had been charged with wounding his common-law wife and harm to his eight-year-old stepson, following a February 17 domestic incident that was captured on surveillance video and later leaked publicly.  However, in court today, the virtual complainant, 38-year-old caregiver, Deidre Jacobs, took the stand and indicated that she did not wish to proceed with the matter. After confirming that she was not coerced or threatened to withdraw the case, the prosecution offered no further evidence, and the charges were dismissed for want of prosecution.  Despite that development, Love News has confirmed that the matter is not fully closed.  Authorities say the case has now been brought to the attention of the Director of Human Services, whose office was reportedly not notified of the withdrawal of charges relating to the child. As a result, the file will now be forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for review to determine whether charges involving the minor can be reinstated.  The incident itself has drawn national attention due to disturbing video footage which runs just over three minutes, shows a heated domestic exchange inside the home. While Garbutt appeared calm at the start, the situation escalated into violence. At one point, the eight-year-old child is seen intervening with a metal bat in an apparent attempt to defend his mother, after which Garbutt is seen assaulting the child.  According to the initial police report, Jacobs alleged that Garbutt choked and punched her, causing injuries to her face and lips, while the child was slapped after attempting to intervene. Medical examinations later classified her injuries as wounding and the child’s as harm.  Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Elton Bennett, has since condemned the actions seen in the video, noting that the officer remains on interdiction as the matter continues to be reviewed internally.

Elton Bennett, CEO, Ministry of Home Affairs: “I saw a very disturbing video with the police officer who was involved in a domestic dispute. And I’m very disappointed that the case did not go through the full extent in the courts. This behavior is very disappointing of our members of the police department or any member across the government public service. The police department has no room for misconduct of such. So despite the case being struck out from the courts we will ensure that we follow through the internal disciplinary tribunal to ensure that justice is served and that the police department ensures that the members are held to a very high standard. So we will continue to pursue this case just to ensure that from our police internal administrative standpoint that we follow through with a disciplinary case.”

Love News understands that an internal disciplinary tribunal within the police department has not yet been completed, meaning administrative proceedings against Garbutt are still pending.  Meanwhile, the biological father of the child has reportedly expressed outrage at the decision to withdraw the charges, arguing that justice has not been served. However, he has declined to comment publicly.  The case now hinges on whether the DPP will move to reinstate charges on behalf of the child, even as the criminal matter brought by the mother has come to an end./