‘Police must stop probing police’

THE Criminal Bar Association said yesterday that the time has come for ‘police to stop investigating police’ with respect to the killing of citizens. The association feels that a wholly independent body be established comprising people in whom the public can have confidence. The association also believes that Government should pump resources into this body so that independent investigations can be carried out. The association called a news conference in Port-of-Spain yesterday to discuss the recent killings by police officers; the situation at the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court; and prison conditions. Desmond Allum SC, president of the association, said members were very disturbed at the unprecedented rise in the number of incidents in which serious allegations were made against members of the Police Service.

“We view with concern the fact that almost on a daily basis there are reports in the main stream media, instances where serious cases of purported abuse have taken place involving members of the police service.” Allum continued, “we have been hearing quite a bit of persons being shot by members of the police service in circumstances where the account given by the police officers involved in the shooting are hotly contested by persons witnessing the incident.” Allum said that apart from the killings, there were reports of people being beaten and detained by the police, where police officers have been participants in kidnappings, corruption offences, possession of drugs, tampering with evidence, and assaulting and torturing suspects to obtain confessions.

With respect to the killing of teenager Sherman Monseque in Carenage last month, Allum said he has little confidence in achieving any result which can restore confidence in the justice system. He said the action taken by the DPP to send it for an inquest was fairly quick. But he is concerned that at the end of the day, nothing will come out of that investigation. Allum said justice moves too slow in this country and used as an example the inquest into the death of 11 year-old schoolboy Akiel Chambers which took more than five years to get going. The Coroner found that someone was guilty of killing Chambers in February and sent the file back to the police for further investigations. Nothing more was heard about that case.

The association’s president admitted that police officers protect their colleagues who are in trouble. He said when police officers appear before the court on charges, they are shielded by their colleagues. He pointed out that although the Coroner ordered the arrest of two police officers in the International School inquest, it took a long time for them to be arrested by their colleagues. Allum said that after the shooting of Galene Bonadie in “Vegas’, Morvant earlier this year, witnesses to the killing preferred to go to a lawyer and give statements rather than go directly to the police.