Coast Guard Commandant “Embarrassed” After Officer Charged With Attempted Murder

Belize Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Elton Bennett says he is “disappointed” and “embarrassed” after a Coast Guard officer was arrested and charged with use of deadly means of harm, wounding, and attempted murder.

The incident unfolded around 3:35 a.m. Monday on Gibnut Street in Belize City, when an argument between Coast Guard officer Brian Chiac and his common‑law wife, Jessica Pou, escalated. Pou was stabbed multiple times and threatened with death before being rushed to the hospital.

Chiac has been formally charged following the violent incident. Speaking with News Five, Bennett said, “This is certainly not what the Coast Guard stands for… We frown upon men who take advantage of women.”

He urged that the law take its full course without special consideration for Chiac’s uniform and confirmed that Chiac will face an internal disciplinary process separate from the criminal trial. “Because he was charged, he needs to be placed on interdiction. And we started that process already to make a request for him to be interdicted from duty. We will not wait for the criminal case to be completed,” he explained.

The Commandant stressed that such behaviour is “not normal” within the Coast Guard, though he acknowledged this was not the first report involving Chiac. “For the most part, our men are good role models, are good citizens, are good husbands and fathers. So this is very unusual for a member of the Coast Guard to be caught up in a situation like this,” he said.