Georgetown : Ranks were either ill-informed or in deception mode Thursday night when they ordered three residents of Agricola off the streets. The move was allegedly in keeping with a curfew. However, this newspaper after contacting the Guyana Police Force’s Public Relations Office today was categorically informed that there is no curfew. In fact according to a rank, “we have no state of emergency so no rank can’t inform people that there is a curfew. I am not aware of any such thing and even if there was one (curfew), we would have issued an advisory,” the rank asserted.However, this newspaper was informed today that it was shortly after 21:00 hours Thursday that a police patrol vehicle, PLL 1000, entered the Agricola community. At the time three residents of the area – all relatives, were standing on the corner of Third Street, Agricola. According to one of the residents the vehicle, a pick up, sped pass them and went further into the neighbourhood before returning to where they were standing about five minutes later. The vehicle contained four police ranks at the time, the resident informed, one of whom asked “y’all aint know there is a curfew…what y’all doing on the road this hour?”
The resident, who has a background in law enforcement, said that he indicated to the rank that he was not aware of such an advisory, a response which seemed to incense the officer. “He said ‘you have “nough” mouth (talk a lot)…so I gonna have to search you’. So I said do what you have to do I don’t have anything…” The rank, according to the resident, proceeded to take his name as well as that of his two companions. As the process was being conducted, one of the ranks requested that “we spell our names but I said y’all should know to spell.” Riled-up by the resident’s response, one rank, who was described as short and dark in complexion, decided to “crank-up his weapon and said ‘if y’all don’t comply and spell y’all names we gonna throw y’all into this van.’” An attempt by another one of the residents’ to speak to the officer was met with physical assault, which was characterised by “the officer just chucking him.”
According to the former mentioned resident, so disturbing was the attitude of the police rank that he decided to call a relative who is currently a member of the police force to inform him of the situation. Having spoken to the rank on the phone, the officer with the gun began denying that he ever assaulted anyone even as he insisted that “you can call who you want even the President…nobody can’t do me nothing…” This, according to the resident, was all before the ranks boarded the patrol vehicle and sped out of the Agricola area.
The matter, according to an official attached to the Public Relations Department, will certainly be investigated.
However, the residents are concerned about the attitude of the ranks pointing out that “if this is the way that the police ranks of today are treating people then what is going to happen to people who don’t know their rights? Something needs to be done to address this situation.”
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