Friday, March 29, 2024

SWIMMING UPSTREAM – Who will guard the guards?

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It cannot happen here, has never happened here and will never happen here! Police brutality is alien to Barbados, as well as forced confessions. No rogue cops exist here and our detectives are too smart to resort to duress for confessions. Last December 8, in Jamaica, Ricardo Hill aka Kentucky Kid was fatally shot by a squad of policemen. What’s makes this interesting is that Mr Hill and his wife had complained about police harassment and brutality.He was encouraged by his lawyer to install a camera at his residence. In a matter of days Hill was visited by a squad of policemen, including the inspector with whom he had been involved in a vehicular accident earlier.The video, played for the area police, showed Mr Hill being physically abused. No action was taken by the police high command and the threats continued. Kentucky Kid made a YouTube video showing the incursion of his residence by this squad of officers with a simple message: “If you are viewing message I was killed by the police.” Who guards the guard? Is not the citizenry part of the policing partnership? Last Thursday, I received a video clip via Twitter entitled Wanted Man Murdered By Jamaican Police. This video reminded me of gunfights in the wild west, when the gunslinger still standing would casually walk over with bravado and fire shots into his foe.Based on these two actual cases, I am appealing to our Commissioner of Police not to allow Barbadians to lose respect for the Royal Barbados Police Force.Therefore I want to know what happens when accusations of officers taking the law into their own hands are made?  Is the Office of Professional Responsibility fully aware of its mandate with regards to the preservation of officers rights and the public’s complaints?All Barbadians must become guardians of our fate and must hold each and every member of the Royal Barbados Police Force up to the highest standards. Let’s help our officers to be mindful of their motto by using our camera phones and social media to upload them in the execution of their duties.Police officers should therefore not fear websites like www.ustream.tv  which allow the average Barbadian to provide live video to the world. The practice of officers manhandling citizen journalist and erasing camera memory is wrong.To my many friends in the force always do the right thing and live true to your motto.  You are part of the best police force in the world!
Kammie M. Holder, the boy from the village, ignoring a friend’s caution that he may share the same fate as Steve Biko!

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