By Breaking Belize News Staff: The charge of harm against Police Constable Phillip Garbutt in relation to the alleged assault of his 8-year-old stepson has been successfully reinstated following an application by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
However, Garbutt’s attorney, Alifa Elrington, has now moved to challenge the reinstatement before the High Court, arguing that the decision breaches Garbutt’s constitutional right not to be tried twice for the same offence.
The matter was heard before the Chief Magistrate, who considered submissions from DPP Cheryl-Lynn Vidal and the defence on whether the previously dismissed harm charge could lawfully be brought back before the court.
Elrington argued that Garbutt had already been before the court on the harm charge and that the previous dismissal should operate as a bar to any further proceedings. The defence relied on the principle of autrefois acquit, which prevents an accused person from being tried again after having already been acquitted of the same matter.
The DPP, however, argued that the earlier dismissal did not amount to a trial on the merits of the case and therefore did not prevent the prosecution from proceeding again on the harm charge.
In delivering the court’s ruling, the Chief Magistrate found that Garbutt had not been placed in jeopardy in relation to the harm charge. The court reasoned that jeopardy does not arise simply because an accused person enters a plea, but rather when the court begins hearing the matter for the purpose of determining guilt.
The court also made a distinction between the charge involving Garbutt’s common-law wife and the harm charge involving the 8-year-old child. The court noted that, while the virtual complainant in the wounding matter had indicated that she wanted no further court action, the child was the named complainant in the harm charge.
According to the court, the person who would have had to give evidence in relation to the harm charge was the child himself. The court found that the mother could not directly speak on the child’s behalf in a way that would amount to a full adjudication of that charge.
For that reason, the court found that the previous dismissal did not amount to an acquittal on the merits in relation to the child. The DPP’s application was therefore granted, and the harm charge was reinstated.
Immediately following the ruling, Elrington made a constitutional application, contending that the reinstatement of the charge violates Garbutt’s right under section 6(5) of the Belize Constitution, which protects a person from being tried again for an offence after being convicted or acquitted by a competent court.
The constitutional issue now framed for the High Court is whether the reinstatement of the harm charge, which had been dismissed by Magistrate Walters on April 20, 2026, breaches Garbutt’s constitutional right not to be tried twice for the same offence.
The Magistrate’s Court proceedings have now been stayed pending the hearing and determination of that constitutional application before the High Court.
Garbutt’s case first drew national attention in February after video footage circulated publicly showing a domestic altercation involving his common-law wife and her 8-year-old son.
BBN previously reported that Garbutt, 39, attached to the Traffic Support Unit of the Belize Police Department, had been taken before the Belize City Magistrate’s Court and charged with aggravated assault, wounding his common-law wife, and harm to the child following the incident.
The case was later dismissed in April after the woman told the court that she wanted no further court action, prompting the prosecution to offer no evidence at that time. BBN also reported that the child’s father had expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome, saying that the system had failed to protect his son.
Following public backlash, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Enterprise, Elton Bennett, told BBN that the conduct shown in the viral video was “disturbing” and “disappointing” for a member of the Belize Police Department. Bennett said at the time that he had already spoken with the Commissioner of Police and that Garbutt would be brought before “some form of tribunal or disciplinary process.” He also said the matter involved conduct unbecoming “to the extent of not serving in the Belize Police Department.”
However, despite Bennett’s public comments in April that the department and ministry would follow through with an internal disciplinary process, BBN understands that, to date, no final internal decision has been made on Garbutt’s status within the Belize Police Department.
The matter will now turn on whether the High Court agrees with the defence that the reinstated harm charge violates Garbutt’s constitutional protection against double jeopardy, or whether the prosecution will be allowed to proceed with the harm charge against him.
The post DPP successfully petitions to reinstate harm charge against PC Phillip Garbutt for assault of 8-year-old stepson; Defence claims his constitutional rights are being violated appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: The charge of harm against Police Constable Phillip Garbutt in relation to the alleged assault of his 8-year-old stepson has been successfully reinstated following an application by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. However, Garbutt’s attorney, Alifa Elrington, has now moved to challenge the reinstatement before the High
The post DPP successfully petitions to reinstate harm charge against PC Phillip Garbutt for assault of 8-year-old stepson; Defence claims his constitutional rights are being violated appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.