Bowen says police didn't have to shoot him

Steven Bowen Jr.

As for the actual shooting incident, Bowen says the officers had no reason to fire at him. He told us that they were at Salazar's house and as he was packing to leave he heard gunshots from outside. According to Bowen, he threw himself on the ground and alleges that though the officers found him unarmed on the ground, he was still shot in the leg. He also denies allegations that he attacked them with a machete.

Via Phone: Steven Bowen Jr., Shot By Police

"I drop flat; jump straight pan my belly. When I jump pan my belly, I push two ah my hands out and I holla surrender, surrender, surrender, I noh got nothing. When I look up Coast Guard and B.D.F. lined up in front ah me wid some big rifle like m-16 and m-4. Afta dat I had a cap on my head, one of them asked me to take off the cap, where is the weapon. I tell them I have no weapon. He told me to take off the cap and as soon as I took off the cap I heard a shot fire. But I didn't know that I got hit until afterwards. I felt a burning sensation in my foot when I conscious my foot swell up. At that time I was still laying on the ground, surrendered myself already right. Afta dat, weh happen they told me to come to the front. I couldn't walk so I dragged myself on my belly out to the beach. When I reach pan di beach, I si dehn had my friend eena di bush di beat dehn up so bad. I hear dehn di scream and bawl. One ah dehn come, put wah gun eena one ah mi friend dehn mouth when dehn bring ah out from di bush and ask ah if ih ready fi dead. At di same time one ah di officers come down and he saw me, I recognize he because he know due to one ah fi he relatives di come with my cousin weh have pickney and I meet he several times. He saw me and he said he know me, I noh troublesome or nothing like dat, I dah boat captain. He told dem fi mek dehn render help to me and pick me up and ker me eena di boat. Before dat happen, one ah di Coast Guard dehn come, stand up pan me and start to whap me, whap me, whap me wid wah stick, ask me weh di gun deh. I tell ah I noh know bout no gun, I noh got no gun, I only had a little bit a weed. Di machete dat we had-we had two machete-we use dehn machete deh fi cut coconut. Dehn seh I charge afta dehn wid wah machete. I neva charge afta dehn wid no machete. If I mi charge afta dehn wid any machete I mi wah be wah dead man. Afterwards dehn help me up to di boat, put me eena di Coast Guard boat and wah guy weh deh eena civilian clothes, he jump top ah me again, put wah gun dah my head and ask me if I ready fi dead, weh pah di gun dehn deh. I push he off and I tell he I noh got no gun, I noh know bout no gun. He ker me dah town and put me eena wah pickup and transport me to the Polyclinic and di polyclinic put me to Karl Heusner."

Delahnie Bain

"So you’re still in the hospital right now."

Via Phone: Steven Bowen Jr.

"I still eena di hospital wid wah bullet lodge eena mi left leg. Di position ah weh di bullet deh, you could si dat I neva mi di run. I mi deh pan di ground laying down and everything. Di way how di doctor seh if di bullet mi penetrate from far, ih mi wah tear of my whole leg. Di bullet penetrate and just bruk di bone and stay inside."

Bowen says he believes that if the cop did not recognize him, the law enforcement officers might have killed him and his friends.


Bowen said he recently met man with the M4 carbine

Elias Hernandez

Steven Bowen Junior was shot by law enforcement officers in San Pedro on Tuesday. He was with Elias Hernandez and Lucio Salazar; all three were accused of being part of a group of about ten, who were intimidating residents with high powered weapons on the north end of Ambergris Caye. Bowen says he knows nothing about the weapons that the officers demanded from them. But, as we reported on Wednesday, the person in a picture previously released by police which was labeled as Alexander Mazariego was actually Hernandez and he was, in fact holding a high powered weapon. Bowen is still hospitalized under police guard, but in a telephone interview today, he told News Five he's only known Hernandez a few weeks.

Via Phone: Steven Bowen Jr., Shot by Police

Lucio Salazar

"I know Hernandez for the past three weeks. I just recently get fi know he. He neva bring no gun round me, we neva had nothing like dat. We only had two machete. It was three of us and with two machetes. The caretaker, he is one of our friends. I know him for like two months now, I usually go and hang out with him-ker a little bottle rum for him and hang out with him right there. But most ah di time, we deh right pan di dock, everybody pass weh, di island ferry come, meet weh deh, people come and pick up sea grapes wid we. I don't know weh dehn di talk about how we mi di terrorize di area, di walk bout di area wid big gun and lotta thing. Nothing like dat noh mi di happen. I have wah witness several houses down from weh pah I mi di hang out, he saw me most of di time and he told me I could get water from di house if I wanted. So when he heard di shots rang off, he directly went to my father and asked my father to make sure if it was me and if I’m okay."

Steven Bowen Jr.

Delahnie Bain

"So since you've known the guy Hernandez, you don't know anything about whatever weapons he might have?"

Via Phone: Steven Bowen Jr.

"I noh know bout no weapon he have and he neva produce no weapons front ah me fi di past three weeks weh I mi deh wid ah, di past three weeks I've known him."

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