Shocked by police disdain
Dear Commissioner of Police Antony Anderson:
IAM writing on the advice of INDECOM to lodge the following complaint against a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, in an effort to seek redress in accordance with the assurances from your office that members of the constabulary will be held accountable for their conduct.
On Wednesday, March 21, 2018, at approximately 7:20 p.m., a young female motorist bumped into my car while I was waiting in a line of traffic on Eastwood Park Road, just below the traffic lights at the South Odeon Avenue intersection.
There was a police service car registration # 20 3533 in the general vicinity, about 20 feet away from where the minor collision occurred. I saw three policemen, all of whom were attending to duty with their backs turned in my direction. About two to three minutes after the incident happened, one of the policemen eventually came over to the spot in the road where the other motorist and I had remained inside our respective vehicles in stationary position.
The policeman banged on the bonnet of my car. I didn’t understand what that meant, but shortly after he indicated that I should pull over to the side of the road to allow the traffic to flow. I complied.
After pulling over, I got out of my car looking around for the other motorist so we could at least exchange notes and do what is required when people are involved in a road accident.
I didn’t see the young lady or her vehicle, so I turned to the policeman and asked him for her. To my shock and horror, his reply was, “Which lady?” I told him, the lady who bumped into my car.
His response was a hostile, “You chat too much.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from this officer of the law, so I asked him his name. His reply, in an even greater hostile tone, was, “My name is Leave Here; there is no place here for old people.” I asked for his identification. He did not respond.
I asked to see his service number, which was par tially hidden. He began beating his chest, saying to me, “See it deh p***yhole, see it deh!” I told him I could not see all the digits and asked if he would fix it so I could see. His reply: “Wah happen, you blind? See it deh.” He made no attempt to fix it, so I was still unable to see his number. He continued ranting and raving, directing more expletives at me and beating his chest at intervals.
EVEN MORE BOISTEROUS
I told him I was going to report him to the High Command. He became even more boisterous and abusive, telling me in a mocking way, peppered with more expletives, to go ahead as he was used to controversy, as if to suggest that he was confident nothing would come from reporting him.
In all this time, the other two policemen were in earshot and eyesight of all that was transpiring, but never once intervened.
Unfortunately, I cannot refer to the offending policeman by name or any other form of direct identification as he refused to tell me his name or to show me any form of personal/official identification and his service number was not visible. I believe these obstructions in and of themselves constitute violations of JCF standards and code of conduct, let alone the verbal abuse to which I was subjected.
The best I can state in the circumstances that might help identify the policeman against whom I am lodging this complaint is that he was part of a team utilising police service car registration #20 3533 positioned on Eastwood Park Road, across from the JUTC bus park, from the time of the incident until I left at approximately 7:35 p.m. He is a relatively young man, about 5 feet, 6 inches or so tall, and wearing two stripes (corporal).