POLICE BRUTALITY AND VIOLENCE
It is reported that the police force has behaved in a manner that was totally unjustified and irresponsible on Sunday 13th May, 2007, the day after the National Assembly elections. This was in an incident which occurred at ‘Bisnak’, on the Revolution Avenue in the vicinity of ‘Tip-Top’, a former retail outlet in the district of St. Louis.
At around 6.30pm a small crowd of mostly opposition supporters had gathered peacefully- nothing out of the ordinary was happening. A police van went by making its way to the parking space near the
After the truck had departed the reason why the police had parked and walked back to where the small crowd of opposition supporters had gathered became clear. One officer was overheard saying “bal pou ferme”, suddenly tear gas was thrown and rubber bullets were fired without any warning to disperse from the police. As bystanders scattered to avoid tear gas and the rubber bullets, the police officers managed to grab two young men amongst the fleeing crowd. They were badly beaten up with batons, handcuffed and thrown into a waiting police vehicle.
According to eye witnesses the police officers were careless in the way they conducted this operation. This neighbourhood is a built up area with residential houses with small children and the elderly living in the vicinity. The tear gas and rubber bullets were used negligently and indiscriminately without due care and consideration whatsoever of the surrounding locality. Small children and some older people had to be evacuated from their homes to escape tear gas which were thrown literally at their doorsteps. The police officers involved demonstrated very little training in the way they went about this operation. It showed signs reminiscent of the incident now characterised as ‘Black October’ which, took place on the 3rd of October, 2006 - In the precinct of the National Assembly where the SNP leadership and a group of supporters were set upon by members of the SSU.
These kinds of incidences when it happens discredit the police force. It does not bode well on the reputation of our newly appointed Commissioner of police Mr. Gerard Waye-Hive, who is doing his utmost, all things considered, to reform a defunct organisation. The millions that are being spent on the training of our police forces are clearly going to waste, that is unless Waye-Hive is successful at turning things around before it is too late. Personnel in the force fronting sensitive security operations for the police force it seems are of the view that brutality is the answer to dealing with all situations. Their approach is one that is dangerous in the sense that they can turn a calm situation, easily resolved through negotiations, into one that is volatile with the potential of unnecessary loss of lives and damage to property. We need a police force that is professional, discipline with able leaders possessing foresight, something seriously lacking within the present force.