Police Minister Claims Cops Did No Wrong In Two Incidents

31 year old Miguel Martinez died in police custody on Monday - and yesterday a post mortem confirmed that the cause of death was lung failure, due to excessive alcohol and drug consumption.

The long and short of that is that the police pathologist is saying that the police were not to blame for his death in the San Pedro holding cell.

Police Minister Doug Singh told LOVE TV as much yesterday. Here's a portion of that interview.

Doug Singh - Minister of Police
"The particular individual that died in custody in San Pedro was detained by police prior to that event because of complaints of him exposing himself in public, and other things that he was doing and he appeared to have been on something. The following week, there was a report that he was - I think - using a machete and banging on someone's house. When the police went there, he was nowhere to be seen; police went back and the hotel next door to that house called the police afterwards saying that he had a machete - this is the Phoenix hotel; this is the hotel that is ranked on trip advisors as the number 1 hotel in the world. They said that he was out there chopping at trees, and that's when the police went and brought him in. While he was at the station and he was in the cell, he was also acting quite erratic, and he made a lot of noise - and the noise subsided and when it totally stop, that's when the officers went in and check because they hadn't heard him and that's when they found that he had died. The autopsy was conducted and - I was told - yesterday that the autopsy revealed that he died from lung failure. And the lung failure could have been attributed to a drug abuse problem. The family apparently was not as pleased and thought that the pathologist might have been covering up and so the officer in charge took the family to the pathologist so he can clearly explain the results."

Singh also spoke on the Tuesday night's shooting in an Orange Walk Bar. As we've reported, a police Sergeant got into a fight with three men - and fired his weapon; one of the bullets ricocheted and injured Jorge Celis. Celis told us he could lose vision in that eye and has to go see a specialist abroad.

But Singh says Celis and his group could be facing charges because he alleges that they attacked the police officer. Singh says the entire event was preceded by an extended drinking session with Celis and his friends:

Doug Singh
"3 people where in the bar from about 3 something that day, but I can't remember the exact hour, had gone in there, coming from some place that obviously they were drinking before, and continue to do so for the next hour and a half to 2 hours prior to when Sergeant Novelo and his brother entered the bar. One of these individuals approached the police officer and had an exchange of words and went back, that when the other 2 went, and they attack the police officer - now these are eye witness statements that we have, this is this is not something I'm fabricating - and they attack the police officer and made an attempt to take his gun. He had the gun above his head, he was on the ground and they were on top of him and the gun went off. The gun went off, hit a table - base on the evidence that we have a metal table, from the metal table it ricocheted to the wall and it broke up into pieces. One of the fragments hit the individual on the side."

Jorge Celis today told us that Singh has it all wrong; it's Novelo who was in the bar when they got in there. He says they were drinking their first round - and that's when Novelo came over, asked for a beer and when they refused, he took out his pepper spray.

Singh also alleges that Celis and his group did not go to make a report immediately - and Singh takes this as some illustration of wrongdoing on their part.

Celis says they did go to the police, but had to go to the hospital because he was bleeding profusely.

Singh also alleges that Celis made no statement - when Celis says he gave one to the police in Belize - and he now assumes - after Singh's statement, that it has disappeared.

Singh says they have gathered statement to support their account of events.

Celis went to Chetumal for a second opinion on his eye tonight, and leaves for Merida tonight.

Channel 7