First published in The Tribune on Friday, September 7, 2007 under the byline, Young Man’s View.
OF LATE, incidents of police brutality has seeming been on a rise, possibly due to the shoddy vetting procedures done when recruiting officers, and the hiring of immature, undisciplined officers. These days, the police force is teeming with officers that are, quite frankly, gangsters in uniforms!
Just last month, three cases heard in the Supreme Court—two murders and an armed robbery—were tossed out after judges instructed jurors not to return guilty verdicts because it was determined that the confession statements of the accused were obtained unlawfully and under duress.
Widespread, methodical police brutality exists in various countries, but the recent spate of allegations against Bahamian officers, even though accusations have been made in previous years, should be grounds for serious concern. The Wikipedia encyclopedia describes police brutality as the ‘excessive use of physical force, assault, verbal attacks, and threats by police officers and other law enforcement officers’.
While I support a no-tolerance approach to enforcing the law, there are numerous people, particularly young men or the underprivileged, that can attest to an air of fright and mistreatment they feel when dealing with local cops. In many instances, many officers believe that they are above the law, becoming authoritarians simply because they wear a uniform, possess a firearm and can flash a badge.
Certain groups of rogue, local officers seem intent on demonstrating their power, conducting themselves like rude, uncouth brutes and often being unpleasant and unsociable, all in their quest for subjugation and control.
Although race plays less of a role in local policing, Wikipedia states that in the United States, race and police brutality are closely linked and has ignited several race riots over the years.
Internationally, there has been several highly publicized incidents of police cruelty. In the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement was plagued by incidents of police brutality, where campaigners were bludgeoned with nightsticks and blackjacks, attacked by police dogs, washed down and pummeled by high powered water hoses, and falsely arrested and racially profiled. However, press exposure of these incidents did lead to public outcry and to more sympathizers joining the cause.
The 1977 death of South African freedom fighter Steve Biko, is largely believed to have been caused by the hands of police officers, particularly since Mr Biko played a role in numerous anti-apartheid demonstrations.
Within the last 15 years, the brutal beating of Rodney King (March 3, 1991), by four white Los Angeles police officers sparked public unrest. When the four officers that were caught on tape were charged and acquitted, the 1992 Los Angeles riots erupted, particularly since many blacks felt that justice had not been served and that they were being disenfranchised. Eventually, Mr King accepted a $3.8 million settlement from the city, and the officers were charged in federal court for violation of civil rights (only two were convicted).
On the local front, much like Jamaica and place such as Oakland (California), when youngsters living in the inner cities spot a police car or hear that the police are approaching, they quickly roll out, taking flight over walls and barbed wired fences if necessary. These young men fear the police, who they have come to view as oppressors that will only ill-treat them or force them to confess to crimes rather than offer protection and service. It is no secret that victims of police brutality are often from minorities, are young or are poor.
Frankly, many less affluent Bahamians think that justice is an aspect of society that is only afforded to the wealthy or the politically connected. Furthermore, although many instances of police brutality go unreported, people that do file formal complaints with the Complaints and Corruption Unit generally distrust this internal policing division as they often think that there is a lack of accountability and a bias towards favoring police officers.
The beating of Desmond Key, who has been in a two month coma, coupled with the dismissal of cases where it appeared that the police obtained illegal confessions, has once again heightened the public’s interest. This week’s killing of Andros native Kenneth Russell, by a policeman, has the public again asking questions about the police’s use of force and so on.
If the Central Detective Unit is capable of recording both interviews on video/audio, why is it that all interviews aren’t mandated to be recorded? Is the unit’s failure to record all interviews a wretched excuse to continue with an archaic interrogative format that often result in suspects alleging police abuse?
I personally know of stories where young men were beaten by out of control officers proceeded to play judge, jury and executioner. Apparently, the most frequently alleged forms of police brutality are that police officers have beaten suspects with baseball bats, attempt to suffocate some suspect by placing plastic bags over their heads, withheld pain medication, spat of suspects, and used taser guns to electrically shock a suspect on their privates, and so on.
And, why are many suspects that are arrested here not afforded the opportunity to contact a lawyer before being interrogated? What about due process?
It is high time that there are police review reforms and the establishment of independent, civilian commissions to deal with complaints against police officers. Police Commissioner Paul Farquharson recently said that the most recent draft of the Police Act refers to a third-party oversight body—now, it’s the lawmakers’ responsibility to ensure that this is not only debated but also enforced.
According to Wikipedia, the issuance of a ‘use of force continuum’ is said to keep the police’s use of force in check by setting the levels of force that appropriately respond to a suspect’s behavior. This is an element of policing that must be explored, if it hasn’t been already, by the police force and the government.
The police’s job is to protect and serve, and any hooligan-in-uniform found doing otherwise should be fired and/or jailed.
