Three charged with beating cops

ONE man and two women, who have been charged with beating three police officers, will appear before a Sangre Grande magistrate to answer the charge later this week. Edison Small, 24, will appear before Magistrate Cherill Ann Blake today to apply for bail, with his sister Natasha Small, 24, and cousin Kya Castillano, 32. The threesome will appear before the same magistrate on August 9 to answer the charges. The charges arise out of an attack on PCS Jones, Avis and Durity, who were bitten, beaten, stripped of their police uniforms, threatened and pelted while working a cultural exhibition/concert on Saturday at Cumuto Village on the outskirts of Sangre Grande. Their walkie-talkie was also smashed in the incident. According to reports, the cultural exhibition/concert, which was coordinated by Senator Jennifer Jones-Kernahan was in full swing around 10.30 am, when a man started using obscene language.

He was warned by the officers and retaliated by hitting one of them with a shirt in the face. The officers held the man and was escorting him to the police car to be taken to the Cumuto Police Station, when two women ran up to the officers and started to cuff, kick, curse and bite the officers, ripping off their uniforms in the process. The man then grabbed a walkie-talkie from one of the officers and smashed it on the ground as the attack, which was joined by other villagers, continued. Officers from the joint army/police patrol (Arima), the San Raphael Police Station, Pinto Police Post and Sangre Grande, came to their colleagues’ rescue, releasing the three officers and arresting three villagers.

The arrested persons were taken to the Cumuto Police Station, but they were followed by 100 villagers who started pelting the station, threatening to burn it down while calling for the release of the trio. The visiting officers were eventually able to subdue the villagers, who left the area. Edison was taken to the Arima Police Station, while Small and Castillano were taken to the Sangre Grande Police Station. Edison appeared before Arima Magistrate Debra Quintin, where he was not called on to plead. He was transferred to Sangre Grande Court today for a decision on bail, which was initially refused. Small and Castillano, who appeared before Magistrate Blake, were placed on $10,000 bail each and will appear with Edison on Friday. PC Jones laid the obscene language and resisting arrest charges, while acting Sgt Jugmohan laid the other related charges.