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Over to you, Commish
Friday, August 31, 2007
Dear Editor,
As a member of the Police Support Action Committee and a citizen of Jamaica, I must express my utter disgust with three recent cases of police abuses (excesses) which occurred last week during the State of Emergency.
One is the stopping and handcuffing, by members of the police force, of a doctor on his way to the hospital to perform an emergency operation on a child who was critically ill, despite the fact that he explained himself and showed an ID. After the intervention of a good member of the force who was passing by, the doctor was released after being put through a lot of unnecessary inconvenience and discomfort.
The second case is the harsh, unconscionable treatment meted out to a motorist by a "blue bag" (special constable) because the licence plates for the man's car had become a bit faded. The "blue bag" had the car seized, towed away and impounded, despite the fact that everything else was up-to-date with the vehicle. No guidance or prior warning! Think of the stress, inconvenience, cost and trauma to this poor taxpayer. How oppressive!
This "blue bag" is no better than the police constable in the third case: the policeman who shot and killed a dog for barking at him.
The dog and its grieving owner were shown on CVM-TV news the day after the hurricane. When the dog's owner reported the shooting by the policeman, who had recently moved to live in her neighbourhood, she was told by the police that no action could be taken since she did not know the offending cop's name. Could they not have gone to where this cruel cop lives to find out his identity and arrest him? Can people's pets be just slaughtered and nothing comes of it?
I am calling on Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas to take swift decisive action against these particular bad eggs in the constabulary force to prevent it from descending into a goon squad.
We cannot build trust in a force with people like these in it.
Peter Townsend
6 Cargill Avenue
Kingston 10
Friday, August 31, 2007
Dear Editor,
As a member of the Police Support Action Committee and a citizen of Jamaica, I must express my utter disgust with three recent cases of police abuses (excesses) which occurred last week during the State of Emergency.
One is the stopping and handcuffing, by members of the police force, of a doctor on his way to the hospital to perform an emergency operation on a child who was critically ill, despite the fact that he explained himself and showed an ID. After the intervention of a good member of the force who was passing by, the doctor was released after being put through a lot of unnecessary inconvenience and discomfort.
The second case is the harsh, unconscionable treatment meted out to a motorist by a "blue bag" (special constable) because the licence plates for the man's car had become a bit faded. The "blue bag" had the car seized, towed away and impounded, despite the fact that everything else was up-to-date with the vehicle. No guidance or prior warning! Think of the stress, inconvenience, cost and trauma to this poor taxpayer. How oppressive!
This "blue bag" is no better than the police constable in the third case: the policeman who shot and killed a dog for barking at him.
The dog and its grieving owner were shown on CVM-TV news the day after the hurricane. When the dog's owner reported the shooting by the policeman, who had recently moved to live in her neighbourhood, she was told by the police that no action could be taken since she did not know the offending cop's name. Could they not have gone to where this cruel cop lives to find out his identity and arrest him? Can people's pets be just slaughtered and nothing comes of it?
I am calling on Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas to take swift decisive action against these particular bad eggs in the constabulary force to prevent it from descending into a goon squad.
We cannot build trust in a force with people like these in it.
Peter Townsend
6 Cargill Avenue
Kingston 10
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