Cop, woman in courtroom fight

A female police officer was yesterday slammed against an iron barrier in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court after a woman became angry about being asked to leave one of the city’s courts. Reports state that the woman, who was not identified, was sitting in the backseat of the city’s Fourth Court, which was being presided over by Magistrate Lianne Lee Kim. While the woman sat in the packed courtroom, officers on duty at the court noticed that the woman sat and played with her hair during the proceedings. One of the officers asked the woman to stop, saying it was not the time nor place for that type of thing. The woman, however, sternly replied, “I not doing nothing wrong.”

The magistrate, who was dealing with a matter at that time, paused and looked on without saying a word, while the woman continued playing with her short twisted hairstyle, ignoring the officer. After asking her time and time again to stop playing with her hair, the officer then approached the woman, took her by the arm and attempted to escort her out of the courtroom. Protesting loudly, the woman then asked the officer to leave her alone.

The officer eventually got the woman out of the courtroom, but as she protested loudly, female officers then approached her and warned her about her behaviour. When the woman continued with her loud behaviour, one of the officers walked up to her and attempted to subdue the irritated woman. The woman then pushed the female officer against an iron barrier located outside the courtroom, pinning the officer. Two other female officers ran to assist their colleague, who managed to get out of the woman’s hold. The attacker was then escorted by the three officers to the prisoner’s holding bay, and then taken to the Central Police Station.