Forest Officers Confront Violence in Line of Duty

And if you think patrolling the forest and preventing illegal logging is easy, think again. For the men and women on the frontlines, enforcing the law can mean staring down real danger, even the barrel of a gun. Forest officers say threats have become routine and in one recent case, a suspect allegedly tried to ram them with a tractor before pulling a gun. Despite the risks, these officers continue to patrol remote areas, sometimes with police support to protect Belize’s natural resources. Deputy Chief Forest Officer John Pinelo tells us what his team faces every day.

 

John Pinelo Jr., Deputy Chief Forest Officer

“Now, because we have put a stop to extraction on national lands, extraction in private lands has been increased. And extraction illegally because people still want to continue doing their business.”

 

 Shane Williams

“You mentioned a specific one where a gun was even pulled on one of your officers.”

 

John Pinelo

“Yes. We get a lot of threats, threats subliminally and direct in our face telling us, you will see what will happen to you. I, myself have been threatened. So it comes with the job. My guys make sure that they go in groups. If we are dealing with an issue late in the night, we, or somewhere remote, we have the kind support of the police who we take with us. And yes, we did have an incident where we were called to participate in monitoring of possibly illegal activities in a private property. And then when we got there the person, a person who was coming out with a tractor tried to knock down the officers and the private security company who monitors that area fired a shot at the tractor’s radiator to incapacitate it. And the driver on the tractor pull out his gun and pointed it at all of our officers. This is the type of thing that we endure. And the person has been charged. I hope that the full extent of the law is placed on him because he did pull his firearm out on officers who were actually out there trying to get their work done  and the private security company who was monitoring the private property that he was on illegally.”

 

Stopping illegal logging comes with real risks. Forest officers say threats have become part of the job, and in some cases, those encounters turn hostile. Despite the risks, forestry teams continue to patrol remote areas, often with police support, as they work to protect Belize’s natural resources.