Police must also obey the law

Frequently, this misbehaviour does not warrant disciplinary action but could easily be corrected by ensuring that officers understand that the law applies equally to the police as to ordinary people.

Recently on the slip road to enter the Solomon Hochoy Highway going north from Chase Village, I came upon a vehicle belonging to the Praedial Larceny Squad stopped alongside a car parked on the shoulder.

The police vehicle was stopped in such a manner as to prevent vehicles from passing, as a result of which I sounded my horn to alert the driver that there was a car behind him.

The vehicle failed to move as it appeared the occupants were conversing with the driver of the parked car. I once again sounded my horn, whereupon the officer on the passenger side exited the vehicle and approached me, directing me to lower my window.

The officer asked why I was blowing my horn and I told him he was blocking the road. I asked him if it was against the law to blow my horn as I felt he should have pulled to the side to conduct his conversation. He then told me I should learn to have patience.

I advised him that he was being disrespectful as he was causing unnecessary inconvenience to law-abiding citizens. He stormed off in a huff, clearly annoyed that a senior citizen had the temerity to correct a clear breach of his civic duty.

The commissioner has a responsibility to ensure that his officers understand that they are employed to ensure the laws are obeyed and that cannot be accomplished if they are among the lawbreakers. Had it been a civilian who had stopped in the roadway, the officer would have been acting within his authority to correct the person.

It is equally incumbent on the officer to ensure that he is not engaged in behaviour which is not consistent with the law. This message must be known to all police officers and that there are no exceptions. The duty of a police officer is to uphold the law, not break it.