A police officer who reportedly beat a youth whom he met in his (the youth’s) sister’s yard in Rillan Hill last week Sunday, June 3 has come to realise that the student is a police officer’s son.
iWitness News understands that the Questelles Police Station is looking into the report that a police officer took the 16-year-old Form 4 student from his sister’s property at Rillan Hill and whipped him at the station.
The youth told iWitness News on Sunday that he was in the yard of his sister’s property sometime after 5 p.m., having gone to visit her because she had had a major seizure earlier that day.
The youth, who asked not to be identified because of the embarrassing experience, said he was about to return to his mother’s house to report on his older sister’s situation when a vehicle stopped at the side of the road.
He said there were three adult males in the vehicle, a pick-up truck, but none of them were dressed in police uniform nor did they identify themselves as police officers.
The youth said that the men in the vehicle asked him what he was doing at the property.
He said he told them that the property was his sister’s.
The young man who spoke to iWitness News in the Vincentian vernacular, said that during the conversation, he told the men, “Boy, tha’ is me sister place.”
In Vincentian dialect, the expression “boy” or “man” is sometimes used at the beginning of a sentence when one is addressing a male.
However, depending on the tone of the speaker and the age of the male to whom the expression is used, some persons might consider its use as disrespectful.
The youth told iWitness News that he might have used the expression more than once in the conversation with the men.
He said one of them grabbed him by the vest he was wearing and repeatedly banged his head against the vehicle.
“So when I call him boy, he must be [(apparently)] think that I’m rude,” the youth said, adding the police officer did not complain about his use of the expression.
He further said that the same police officer clouted him in the head and slapped him in the face then took him to the police station.
He said that by the time he got to the police station, dusk was approaching. .
“Then after, when he done beat me up, he say he would box me in me belly and all kind of things,” the youth told iWitness News.
He said that the other police officers referred to the man who had beaten him as “Peters”.
He said that at the police station, the officer threatened to throw him in the cell.
The youth said that after being at the station for some time, the officer called him outside and told him to apologise for calling him (the officer) “boy”.
He said that when he was about to leave the station, the officer who had abused him was saying something to him about going home.
The youth said a female police officer asked him if he had heard what the male office had said.
The youth said he did not answer twice, because he was displeased with the treatment meted out to him.
He said he later turned around and said, “I heard you.”
At that point, “Peters”, the male officer, took off his belt.
“He look up and said he ain’t care who watching. We been outside that time there. I been outside to apologise to him,” the youth told iWitness News, adding that the office then proceed to strike him with the belt twice each on his left and right side.
He said the officer again accused him of being rude.
The young man told iWitness News that he did not think what the police did to him was right, but was not sure what redress was available to him.
He said that when the police officers met him at his sister’s house, they did not try to verify that what he was telling them was true.
The young man said that his sister was so affected by the seizure that she was not aware of what the police were doing to him mere yards away.
Don’t think what the police did to him was right.
He said the police claim that they had visited the ill woman earlier.
The situation was brought to the attention of iWitness News by a resident of Rillan Hill and his wife whose house the youth often visits on evenings.
They said they found it strange that he had not visited until almost 9 p.m. that night.
However, the family also had another visitor, who did not leave until after 9 p.m.
After that visitor left, the youth then told the family what the police had done to him.
He further told them that a neighbour had met him crying in the street and advised him to tell the family what had happened.
The villager told iWitness News that he accompanied the youth back to the police station just before 10 p.m. the same night, where the officer in charge said that the junior against whom the allegation was made was not in.
The man visited the station again this past Sunday, where a senior rank promised to look into the allegation.
The allegation is a blot on the name of the Questelles Police Station, which won last year’s police award for best customer service.
Further, it runs contrary to the efforts of other officers at the station involved in the Police Youth Club, that has been doing a lot of positive work with young people in Questelles and its environs.
Sooner or later d ppl of dis country is going to rebel. I hope d government nd police wud be ready cause its not gona be pretty. Police in svg are embarrassingly dumb. I’ve witness many who struggle to even write a report yet we have to respect dem as officers. It maybe long but not forever, vincentians wud over come.
That was such an uncalled for situation if only proper police procedures were carried out ,first they hadn’t confirmed that he was indeed telling the truth or a lie about the property where he was belonged to his sister ,then as usual the first thing to mind is to abuse him because why?he’s a lil guy who probably has no idea about his rights ,I’m speaking as a law enforcement personnel and I’m advising the vicentian public ,learn the law it’s pretty easy to know your rights as citizens I am very displeased with this situation I’m thinking this officer needs some form of discipline and counseling .
A career in the police force, both here and abroad. attract a lot of low life sadists.
That police need his ass kicked.If that was my son,that police would have get f up any where on spot.
What us his Father doing about it. These guys need to be punished not only the one who beat him but all a few even the woman.
They need to be beaten and fired.
It’s never stopped this beating of people by cowardly police officers.
The public would like to know what explanation the officer give to the youngster father who is a police officer this is really crazy with these people when they have little power.
Yet again, one or two bad sheep spoil the flock.
COP please, HAVE CONTINUOUS TRAINING FOR YOUR OFFICERS.
If there is any truth behind this entire story, I hope the young man and his family commence a suit against that officer et al.
Maybe perhaps legal actions and consequences will be the catalyst for much needed change in the police force. Incidents like this are too frequent and unfortunate.
They ambushed a friend of mine who is a taxi driver also. He said they just jumped out in the street without identifying themselves. They were in plain clothes and he took off; they couldn’t catch up to him. After the service they must remember they have to come back to regular civilian life and somebody might have it in for them. A lot of them needs monthly training. Many of them are very dumb, they cannot articulate and their brutality is overbearing,
There’s a public relations department in the force. My advice to you will be to make a formal report and go from there.
Good luck.
I am truly tired of hearing about incidents of this nature and I really hope that they will be investigated thoroughly. Also, we have to bear in mind the “fake stories” and realize their potential and actual impact on real incidents.
what you doing on the property …….you answer .BOY!!…lick reach you….wat if it went this way …what you doing on the property …..you answer …SIR im looking for my sister
You serious, Sir? Those days are done. Simply respond, “This my sister’s place, I was visiting her”. Done. No Sir.
This is just despicable behaviour by all officers involved. I hope the family files a lawsuit.
I have a story to tell too. Last Saturday in Georgetown they slapped my 16 years old son and when my daughter went to the station to ask why she was badly beaten all in her head in the presence of her brother and members of the public by the inspector with his batton
Den police men retarded.
Vince lawyer and the others, why do you think the boy story is exactly what had transpired? I am not here to defend an alleged rogue Cop, but there is another story to be told of which we have not heard yet. Let natural justice and procedural fairness take its course.
In all my comments did I not premise it by stating “if there is any truth” or “fake stories?” I guess that was not clear to you so perhaps you can re-read my comments in totality.