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Step into my SUV, please!
Published: Sunday | August 26, 2012 Comments 0
By Daniel Thwaites
My most recent interaction with the police force occurred when my friend fetched me from the airport just before Independence. As it happens, we were halted close to where the infamous Bicknell stop took place. It wasn't quite as exciting, but there was a moment.
A very small, young policeman (looking even smaller under his massive helmet) came to the window clutching an enormous gun and enquired (aggressively) if I was in possession of a firearm. My first thought was to comment on his gun-and-a-half. But having paid dearly for flippant comments in the past, I just replied, "No."
Meanwhile, his partner had asked my friend a similar question, and the answer, I suspect, was a lot less comforting than mine. Serious discussions ensued. Ever so briefly, the idea of turning back to the airport crossed my mind. I love yard, but unlike Ninja Man, I don't "wish that Jamaica was a cowboy town". All this from a supposedly innocuous 'traffic stop'!
You can't help but have sympathy for the traffic police. It's a tough and dangerous job, made tougher by inevitably irritated drivers, some of whom are armed and angry.
Actually, I get angry with the Government every time I'm stopped. For instance, why is it that in so many places the speed limit is set at horse-and-buggy limits? The 50kph maximum is an invitation for 'speeding' and a set-up for harassment.
The true terror of the traffic ticket is not just suffering through the process of getting it, but also later trying to get it paid. While it's being written, you may as well settle down and order food. Same thing when it's time to pay. You can take a tent, a sleeping bag, and leftover food.
Anyway, back to the short man with the tall gun. When you see things like that, it's a sign that all is not well in the society. The force has to 'police the peace' so much that a traffic stop is like a paramilitary operation. It tells me that the inequities (or the perception of them) are raw, and that the State has to make overt displays of power to control the populace.
But those are big problems with no quick or easy resolution in sight. For now, I just want to suggest a well-publicised manual and set of protocols for how to handle interactions with police at traffic stops. If there's one, I've never seen it. It would set expectations for the interaction, and benefit both sides.
I'm quite sure Rule #1 will be: 'Don't hand the policeman an envelope containing $2,000.' You will be charged. Even if the policeman is minded to take a bribe, that's an insultingly small amount. This brings me to the allegations affecting Bruce Bicknell.
DARYL DID IT?
Having survived the drive from the airport, I later had the great fortune to sit beside Douglas Vaz in the visitors' gallery during Parliament's celebratory Independence sitting. During the unremarkable observance (the GG gave the best speech), Mr Vaz kindly gave me some background about his friendly relationship with Michael Manley, and about his reaction when Michael lurched leftward in the late '70s. I thought, "This is someone who should write his story," or at least have it written for him. The remarkable twists and turns of his career are unusual, and no family should have to deal with two such. But here comes Daryl.
It's fair to say that Daryl holds a unique position among politicians. He has the reputation of being a link between the moneyed classes and the base of the JLP. Therefore this particular charge has the disadvantage, for him, of feeding directly into the public perception of his prowess.
There certainly are signs of what might be called an imbalance of power. For instance, when a policeman stops me, I'm ordered out of the car. When Daryl 'stops' a policeman, the policeman is ordered into the vehicle. However that may be, it appears Sergeant Jubert Llewellyn ended up in the SUV.
I don't see that Daryl's goose is cooked just yet. Speaking of geese, what's sauce for the Troupe should be sauce for the Vaz, and the same knife that sticks Councillor Reid should stick Senior Superintendent James Forbes. Hence I'm patiently awaiting, but not holding my breath, for Andrew Holness' press conference demanding Daryl's resignation from Parliament. Similarly, the fashionable demand for a "full public statement" from Portia on everything that transpires evaporates when the shoe is on the other foot.
In need of specific rules
Attorney for SSP Forbes, Jacqueline Samuels-Brown, quite rightly noted that "allegations are always damning". This being so, we are in real need of specific rules and protocols about when resignation is the proper option. It would be like the political version of the traffic-stop manual suggested above.
Sound ideas about the issue will likely come from people who exercise serious responsibilities in organisations and industry, not from bloviators who've never done anything. Someone like Senator Christopher Tufton might apply his mind to it from his perch at the think tank and have some useful and serious things to say.
As it is now, there's a call for resignation with every bump in the road, and were they to be heeded, absolutely nothing could get done, and the country would be having a by-election every few months.
This is certainly more than a bump, but Daryl ought not to resign. He has the mandate that matters most in our system of government, and in any system that I would care to live under. West Portlanders have already ignored the misguided attempt to oust him through citizenship disqualification. Now, an unproven damning allegation shouldn't remove him.
All said, something has shifted quite fundamentally with the bringing of these charges. Sergeant Llewellyn is nothing if not courageous. The Gleaner reports that his family is in counselling, and that's not surprising. Whatever the outcome of these charges, the constabulary has advanced immeasurably.
A perceptive friend of mine suggested a 'race and class' analysis of why this particular incident has everyone gasping. I'm sure there will be many such analyses forthcoming. Another suggests that anyone named Bruce who goes to Daryl for help just gets into worse trouble. One thing's for certain: there won't be a car on the road when this case goes to trial.
Daniel Thwaites is a partner of Thwaites, Lundgren & D'Arcy in Westchester and Bronx counties in New York. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.
Published: Sunday | August 26, 2012 Comments 0
By Daniel Thwaites
My most recent interaction with the police force occurred when my friend fetched me from the airport just before Independence. As it happens, we were halted close to where the infamous Bicknell stop took place. It wasn't quite as exciting, but there was a moment.
A very small, young policeman (looking even smaller under his massive helmet) came to the window clutching an enormous gun and enquired (aggressively) if I was in possession of a firearm. My first thought was to comment on his gun-and-a-half. But having paid dearly for flippant comments in the past, I just replied, "No."
Meanwhile, his partner had asked my friend a similar question, and the answer, I suspect, was a lot less comforting than mine. Serious discussions ensued. Ever so briefly, the idea of turning back to the airport crossed my mind. I love yard, but unlike Ninja Man, I don't "wish that Jamaica was a cowboy town". All this from a supposedly innocuous 'traffic stop'!
You can't help but have sympathy for the traffic police. It's a tough and dangerous job, made tougher by inevitably irritated drivers, some of whom are armed and angry.
Actually, I get angry with the Government every time I'm stopped. For instance, why is it that in so many places the speed limit is set at horse-and-buggy limits? The 50kph maximum is an invitation for 'speeding' and a set-up for harassment.
The true terror of the traffic ticket is not just suffering through the process of getting it, but also later trying to get it paid. While it's being written, you may as well settle down and order food. Same thing when it's time to pay. You can take a tent, a sleeping bag, and leftover food.
Anyway, back to the short man with the tall gun. When you see things like that, it's a sign that all is not well in the society. The force has to 'police the peace' so much that a traffic stop is like a paramilitary operation. It tells me that the inequities (or the perception of them) are raw, and that the State has to make overt displays of power to control the populace.
But those are big problems with no quick or easy resolution in sight. For now, I just want to suggest a well-publicised manual and set of protocols for how to handle interactions with police at traffic stops. If there's one, I've never seen it. It would set expectations for the interaction, and benefit both sides.
I'm quite sure Rule #1 will be: 'Don't hand the policeman an envelope containing $2,000.' You will be charged. Even if the policeman is minded to take a bribe, that's an insultingly small amount. This brings me to the allegations affecting Bruce Bicknell.
DARYL DID IT?
Having survived the drive from the airport, I later had the great fortune to sit beside Douglas Vaz in the visitors' gallery during Parliament's celebratory Independence sitting. During the unremarkable observance (the GG gave the best speech), Mr Vaz kindly gave me some background about his friendly relationship with Michael Manley, and about his reaction when Michael lurched leftward in the late '70s. I thought, "This is someone who should write his story," or at least have it written for him. The remarkable twists and turns of his career are unusual, and no family should have to deal with two such. But here comes Daryl.
It's fair to say that Daryl holds a unique position among politicians. He has the reputation of being a link between the moneyed classes and the base of the JLP. Therefore this particular charge has the disadvantage, for him, of feeding directly into the public perception of his prowess.
There certainly are signs of what might be called an imbalance of power. For instance, when a policeman stops me, I'm ordered out of the car. When Daryl 'stops' a policeman, the policeman is ordered into the vehicle. However that may be, it appears Sergeant Jubert Llewellyn ended up in the SUV.
I don't see that Daryl's goose is cooked just yet. Speaking of geese, what's sauce for the Troupe should be sauce for the Vaz, and the same knife that sticks Councillor Reid should stick Senior Superintendent James Forbes. Hence I'm patiently awaiting, but not holding my breath, for Andrew Holness' press conference demanding Daryl's resignation from Parliament. Similarly, the fashionable demand for a "full public statement" from Portia on everything that transpires evaporates when the shoe is on the other foot.
In need of specific rules
Attorney for SSP Forbes, Jacqueline Samuels-Brown, quite rightly noted that "allegations are always damning". This being so, we are in real need of specific rules and protocols about when resignation is the proper option. It would be like the political version of the traffic-stop manual suggested above.
Sound ideas about the issue will likely come from people who exercise serious responsibilities in organisations and industry, not from bloviators who've never done anything. Someone like Senator Christopher Tufton might apply his mind to it from his perch at the think tank and have some useful and serious things to say.
As it is now, there's a call for resignation with every bump in the road, and were they to be heeded, absolutely nothing could get done, and the country would be having a by-election every few months.
This is certainly more than a bump, but Daryl ought not to resign. He has the mandate that matters most in our system of government, and in any system that I would care to live under. West Portlanders have already ignored the misguided attempt to oust him through citizenship disqualification. Now, an unproven damning allegation shouldn't remove him.
All said, something has shifted quite fundamentally with the bringing of these charges. Sergeant Llewellyn is nothing if not courageous. The Gleaner reports that his family is in counselling, and that's not surprising. Whatever the outcome of these charges, the constabulary has advanced immeasurably.
A perceptive friend of mine suggested a 'race and class' analysis of why this particular incident has everyone gasping. I'm sure there will be many such analyses forthcoming. Another suggests that anyone named Bruce who goes to Daryl for help just gets into worse trouble. One thing's for certain: there won't be a car on the road when this case goes to trial.
Daniel Thwaites is a partner of Thwaites, Lundgren & D'Arcy in Westchester and Bronx counties in New York. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.
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