Sports Council Investigates Incident Between Caretaker and Minor in Dangriga

The National Sports Council is tonight reviewing the circumstances surrounding an alleged assault inside the Russell “Chiste” Garcia Auditorium in Dangriga.  A video of the incident began circulating last night, showing the facility’s caretaker pinning down a minor while speaking to him in what many viewers described as an aggressive manner. The video quickly gained traction across social media platforms, prompting calls for an explanation and raising questions about the treatment of young people at public facilities.  Love News spoke with National Sports Director Jason Menzies, who confirmed that the National Sports Council is investigating the incident. According to Menzies, preliminary information suggests that the caretaker intervened after reports that the minor had been causing disturbances at the facility. However, he emphasized that the council is carefully reviewing the matter to determine whether the actions taken were appropriate and consistent with established protocols.

Jason Menzies, Director, National Sports Council: “The Sports Council is in the midst of a review of gathering whatever information we can. What we do know is that the caretaker has made a report to the police and we’re waiting that report along with the employee’s report which is required when there is an incident. The employees of the Sports Council are instructed that there should be no confrontations under any circumstances. They’re supposed to de-escalate if that is at all possible. And where that is not possible then we will engage the police or the authorities. We’re all humans, so I’m not going to say no confrontation should have happened. What I’m saying is that the caretaker responded in a way that the sports council would not necessarily support, but that is under review. We’ll take a look at what the circumstances were. The immediate steps we’ve taken is to get statements from everybody that we can as to what transpired seeing that we weren’t there and the video is just a very short clip and from that we can’t really say anything but one thing that he did have his hand on the young man.”

Menzies said the National Sports Council is gathering statements and other relevant information as part of its review and will determine whether any further action is necessary based on its findings.