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Lawyer Ronnie Marks posted on Facebook Monday night this photo of his bruised knee.
Lawyer Ronnie Marks posted on Facebook Monday night this photo of his bruised knee.
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Vincentian lawyer and former senator, Ronald "Ronnie" Marks. (Internet photo)
Vincentian lawyer and former senator, Ronald “Ronnie” Marks. (Internet photo)

Prominent Vincentian lawyer and former senator, Ronald “Ronnie” Marks, says he is surprised by the way in which he and two other men were treated by police in New York Sunday night.

“I have never seen anything like this in my whole life. If somebody tell me that, I could never believe that human beings could be so wicked to one another,” he told I-Witness News by telephone around 7 p.m. Monday night.

“I am right now by the doctor, because they roughed me up real bad. They hurt my right shoulder. All three us, our shoulder [are] damaged,” he said in reference to the other two men who were also arrested.

Police in New York arrested Marks and two other men Sunday night and brought several charges against them.

They appeared in court on Monday and all charges were dismissed without the men having to plea, Marks told I-Witness News.

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He said he suffered several injuries during the ordeal.

“My left knee bruise off, I have a bruise on my cheek, I have a scratch in back and they pull my right shoulder — like its out of place,” he told I-Witness News, adding that the will seek legal redress.

The lawyer wrote on Facebook about the ordeal around midnight Monday.

We have reproduced his account below:

Marks also posted this photo showing a scratch on the side of his face.
Marks also posted this photo showing a scratch on the side of his face.

“Last night was to be my last night in NY before heading to visit my other relatives in Miami. My cousins Jen and Omari invited me to go to our friend Pitance for Karaoke but before that we decided to pass and check the netball. It was really great seeing some of my childhood friends and well missed family and everything was going great. The music was stopped shortly after 10 and we were all preparing to leave when I saw a young man from Layou being dragged by three huge policemen and one woman, as he passed I saw the dread in his eyes and he said to me “oh God Ronnie help me the police locking me up and I ain’t do nothing” I went to the female officer who was at the car that he was just flung into and asked what he did, she said “we told him to leave and he wouldn’t and on top of that he giving attitude. I said to the young man “Darren you should know better than that if you listen to the police they would arrest you” he said ” is not so it go Ronnie” then he was told to shut up, I said we’ll he is clearly sorry and he is not violent so maybe you can consider not arresting him. Two white NYPD officers came over the redhead one (John Swofford) said to me “what the f– [expletive deleted] are you doing there?(the public road) get to f– [expletive deleted] away” Darren then said “he is my Lawyer” I then declared that I was not called to the NY Bar and have no jurisdiction to practice here, but another who is so qualified was just nearby and I turned away from the officers and headed to the area where I last saw Colin Liverpool esq. as I was concerned with the brute force that was used on the young man and the violent demeanor of the officers as Darren is about 5’4″ and I doubt if his weight can make 3 figures, as I walked away from the officers and in full view of about 30 Vincentians the officers kicked my legs out from under me and 3 of them jumped on to me and hand cuffed me. Needless to say I was totally in shock and the Vincentians around began to bawl for bloody murder at what was happening right before their eyes I laid motionless on the ground with my hands behind my back while they handcuffed me and threw me into a police car, people started screaming and protesting that I was walking away from them and they had no right to tackle me in such a vicious manner a near riot broke out and they whisked Darren and myself in separate vehicles to the 77th precinct, later they brought Dj Kemie to the precinct as he too had complained in very strong language as to how they treated me and his fellow Layou man. Vincentians flooded to the precinct loudly protesting the flagrant abuse dished out to us. The trumped up charges laid against us could not stand up in Court in the face of the multitude of witnesses who camped out at the precinct until the wee hours of this morning, When Colin Liverpool confronted the DA with the truth he had no choice but to release us without even putting the trumped up charges to us. I read with disgust some of the political comments made by some in this medium, it never occurred to me to ask Darren what party he supported when I attempted to prevent the NYPD from the criminal abuse that he was getting, the officer left in charge of us also abused DJ Kemie and Darren in my presence by handcuffing them slamming them into the bars because they dared to protest that he was not taking them to the bathroom, it never crossed my mind to inquire whether DJ Kemie is NDP or ULP. A lady whose name I do not know was involved in a very heated political debate with me about 10 minutes the police tackled me to the ground but that did not stop her from passionately protesting the abuse from the NYPD, respect due Sister you need to tell your fellow NDP friends that there are things in life greater than Party politics, there were not NDP or ULP persons at the precinct standing up for us, there were Vincentians, thank you all for standing up for US we are all safely home and resting, but book it and sure WE NAR LEFF UM SO!!!!”

Read earlier stories: 

Charges against lawyer Ronnie Marks dismissed in New York

Lawyer Ronnie Marks arrested, slapped with three charges in New York

11 replies on “Lawyer writes about arrest in NY; posts photos of bruises”

  1. Interesting account this. Always many sides to a story. Indeed as Ronnie says this goes beyond one’s preferred political party, Look forward to seeing the eventual outcome of the of this if the legal issues are taken further.
    Thanks i-Witnessnews

    1. I know everyone has a job to do and in every profession, there is good,bad, and the in-between but I don’t know what it is about law officers (police) and customs officers to a lessor extent (it’s an international thing), from the time they put on that uniform their attitude change, they are above the law, they treat people like pigs and dogs, they become so inhumane. These officers use their office to lie, coverup and break the law, they forget that they used to be civilians and that one day they would be back to that rank. Do not give up Ronnie, fight them tooth and nail. Those officers in SVG do the same S… too and get away with it.

  2. I lived in america for over 10 years and I will never go back to that cursed place. I not going where they don’y like my kind. Me nah dawg!

  3. Mr Marks i hope you get some sort of justice for your pain and suffering, it’s going to be a very long and expensive process dealing with the NYPD and City of New York.

    And while we’re at it let’s not forget Mr Dwayne Sandy, his justice from likewise police brutality still remains outstanding.

    Justice for us all.

  4. David Robinson says:

    Yep this is the type of bull —- that goes on, Power hungry People in all places abusing others without reason or cause. IN THE NAME OF THEIR RACIAL AND BIAS LAWS. I hope they all realize the problems and hurt they create for others. i sure bet if this was to happen in Vincy we would not hear the last of it. these cops are all pigs, pigs,pigs. Sorry about your unjust miss hap Ronnie, enjoy Vincy there is no place like it. And to all the PARTY hypocrites, IT is PEOPLE before PARTY. JUST REMEMBER WE ALL LIVE AND DIE ONCE, ONCE.

  5. Mac S. Carrington says:

    One must always get the Badge # of the cops. There is a Civilian Complaint Bureau. Once a complaint is made by a citizen it cannot be dismissed without a hearing. Next make sure the
    Feds know about it by writing and calling your Congressional representative. There are so many witnesses and nobody video taped this incident. Rep. Yvette Clarke has to be made aware of these incidents. The Feds are on your side. They always try to keep putting your hearing at the Civilian Complaint Bureau, but make sure that the Badge # is known to the Feds.

  6. Teacherfang (@Llijame) says:

    ….“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”
    Charles Darwin

    Mr Marks, wey wrong wid you…I guess, when you don’t know better, you have a tendency to do and say foolish things. So this young man from Layou appears not to understand the environment in which he dwells. In NY, when a black man sees a police man approaching , you do two things….assume the position and pray like ten pundits. Now I am being facetious to a certain extent, in that not ALL black men act in this manner…WE DO ALL PRAY though …but I say this in light of the mindset of the NDYP when dealing with black men in particular. Had this young compatriot knew the environment in which he dwells…he would have known, that engaging the police regardless of how polite you may be or in the believe that you have the right to be where you are, for the most part, is not a good idea for your well being…its sad to say this..but its the gospel truth.

    Now Mr Marks, it would appear that your relatives didn’t sit your arse down and read to you the do’s and don’ts when you are in NY. Its quite noble of you to come to the assistance of your fellow country man…but nobleness gets you no where in the US as far as the police is concern…your complexion is your protection…Mr Marks, the time you open your mouth, you were in trouble. The police knew fully well, you were a “foreigner” by your accent and you are now at their mercy. You were dealing with a concoction of blatant racism and xenophobia, and no amount of pleading was saving you from an arrest . “The probability of false arrests is higher when there is a perceived “social distance” between an officer and suspect, such as ethnicity, age, or socioeconomic status”.

    Mr Marks, do you have time and money to waste? I can tell you right now, that any legal course of action is going to take an inordinate length of time to go through the system…and I am not sure if it would worth it at the end….the police would say in their defense they had reasonable cause to arrest you as you were OBSTRUCTING them in carrying out their LAWFUL duties…ITS BOGUS YES…BUT THAT’S THEIR DEFENSE AND I SUSPECT IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND ANY COURT IN NY WILLING TO GIVE YOU ANY FURTHER REDRESS GIVEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES AS YOU DESCRIBED…YOU GOT YOUR REDRESS ALREADY…THE CHARGES WERE THROWN OUT…

    Next time…do like the other 30 Vincentians…STAY ON THE SIDELINE AND BAWL BLOODY MURDAH. GOOD LUCK IN THE PURSUIT OF YOUR RIGHTS AND FREEDOM.

  7. Kay Bacchus-browne says:

    I really cannot help remembering how Vincentian police treated Vincentian politicians when they threw Hon Daniel Cummings and others out of parliament and how they viciously pulled Maia Eustace by the leg.

    I spoke to Ronnie today and sincerely commiserate with him .Police brutality is bad where ever!.
    Take them to the cleaners Ronnie and when you come home lend your weight to supporting the call for a special chair for Hon.Daniel Cummings.

  8. Patrick G Ferrari says:

    Nicely said Kay. What about Vynnette? It is a pity one cannot be vindicated for psychological damage of trauma in SVG as you can in the United States.

    Ronnie can take the NYPD to the cleaners twice. One, for physical and one for psychological damage. While Vynnette has to put her tail between her legs and pray that they do not send the mongoose gang for her again..

    Ronnie will have an American lawyer and he’d be suing for both. In trhe least.

  9. Let me address the elephant in the room. Mr. Marks, please work on your grammar when posting an article online. You are a professional, you should know better unless you had a lucid interval while writing your piece. If you want your complaint to be taken seriously in the courts of NY then work on your grammar. Do not take this personal.

  10. Teacherfang (@Llijame) says:

    I am amused by this ole talk of taking the NYPD to the “cleaners”…yeah right…its more like the lawyers will be taking Mr Marks to the cleaners. Given the circumstances surrounding this case…and given the minor injuries suffered by Mr Marks..I say if you get an apology you will be lucky…

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