‘Psst… Dahlin…’ (revisited)

SO THERE we were, pedalling our little hearts out, rain dripping down our foreheads and running down our noses, mud splattering on our backs, as we rode through Chaguaramas in the pouring rain. We had started off cycling in the hot sun, and then out of the big blue sky, a massive rain cloud burst its banks right over our heads. But considering we had nowhere to shelter and were already soaked to the bone, we simply kept going. We soon decided to take a pit stop under a large area of bamboo to have a drink of water. In the distance we saw a blue and white police vehicle turn the corner and head in our direction. We had seen them cruising around all day, patrolling the area.  My three friends and I watched as the police car slowed and pulled up next to us. I naturally assumed that the officers were going to give us some safety advice, or advise us on what areas to avoid going into by ourselves, considering that a lot of people would not think it too safe for four young women to go cycling by themselves on a Sunday afternoon. But I was wrong.

“Dahlin, you is real pretty,” the driver of the police vehicle said to me, smiling a big, dopey grin. “What did you say?” I replied, certainly not in the mood to get sexually harassed by a police officer in the pouring rain. The driver looked me up and down and licked his lips, like a wolf about a pounce on a nice, juicy sheep. His partner in the passenger seat tried to suppress a giggle. “Yuh real pretty girl, very pretty,” the driver said again. “You have to be joking!” I said back to him. “What is wrong with you man? You are a police officer, and that is how you talk to people? You drive around and sexually harass women while you are in uniform? That is very unprofessional,” I said irately. The two police officers looked back at me with a vacant expression. “But all I did was pay you a compliment,” the driver responded, probably not quite sure if I was joking or not. “Well hear what,” I replied, “why don’t you keep your compliments to yourself, okay?” And with that they went on their way.

But as they drove off, I realised that perhaps back-chatting a police officer in the middle of a deserted road in Chaguaramas, when my only company is three unarmed young women, might not be a very good idea. The same way I had decided I didn’t want to take their chat, they could have easily decided they didn’t want to take chat from no woman on a bike. They could have easily gotten out of their car and roughed us up, or worse. I am not saying this to unfairly criticise all police officers, but I would not trust a policeman further than I could throw him, not for one hot second. That was not the first time I’ve been harassed and told inappropriate things by an officer of the law. Once when I was walking to the Newsday office, holding my little microwaveable lunch container, a police officer on the Promenade who was slipping a ticket under someone’s windshield wipers turned to me, smiled and said, “Sweet ting, yuh have enough lunch there for me too or what?”

He obviously thought he was being quite funny, but I was not amused or impressed. It is bad enough getting sexually harassed every day of your life by random cavemen on the street — but it is completely unacceptable and inappropriate for policemen to do the same. Whatever happened to being professional, to calling a woman “Miss” instead of some demeaning pick-up line? How can you trust an officer who looks as though he would rather grope you than protect you? Yes, I know what you are thinking… “But that is just Trinidad.” Well it’s a bit pathetic that we keep using that as an excuse for everything. It is a very serious problem when a woman cannot trust a police officer, because although he may be an officer of the law, under his uniform he is just a man, and not necessarily a very trustworthy one. Many police officers put on that uniform and feel that they ARE the law, that they are above the law, and that they can say or do anything that they like, because if someone only dares to challenge them, they feel they have their partners in the police force on their side.

Police corruption — and yes, I do believe police officers harassing women qualifies as a form of corruption — is a worldwide problem, because as the old saying goes, “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” And in Third World countries like ours, where young men often are disempowered and lacking in professional skills, once they put on that police uniform they go on a little ego trip – they feel they “reach” and their status goes right to their heads. It is a little scary to think that any fool can take on this most important role of being an officer of the law and be trusted with a firearm and the public’s safety. A policeman in uniform should always be respectful, professional and take his job seriously. A policeman is supposed to ask if everything is okay, not harass you on the street. A policeman is supposed to be someone you can look up to, someone you can have faith in, someone you can trust to help you out when you are in trouble — not someone who you worry may throw you in the backseat and take you out into the middle of nowhere to rape you. And above all else, a policeman should never, ever forget that he has taken a solemn oath under the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago to Serve and Protect, not Soot and Molest!

emilymdickson@yahoo.com