Bad police treatment: come visit us Lucky

Open letter to the chairman of the Police Complaints Authority, Gillian Lucky: I was left a little bit concerned by your carefully crafted attacks (column of February 10, “Arrogance gone wild”) against the current regime in the form of euphemisms, hyperboles and metaphors—very potent and colourful literary devices employed by a skilful composer to diplomatically attack those in high office.

Unlike you, Lucky, a senior attorney and very respectable lecturer in the field of law, I am only a secondary school teacher who live in Morvant and teach at a school in a socially depressed and scorned-upon area—Laventille. I say that because you accuse this Government of being condescending and refusing to listen to the dispossessed, the downtrodden and the ordinary man but I wonder how fair are your attacks as I have some observations myself about the current chair of the Police Complaints Authority in relation to my area.

I have lived in Morvant for over 40 years. I was born, raised and schooled in the area/neighbouring vicinity. I am now a Teacher III and very proud to publicise appropriately where I was raised and where I live. In my area, the residents have had to live with the most horrendous conditions and abysmal treatment from those who run the Morvant Police Station. The cries of many victims of crimes—from misdemeanours to felonies—have fallen of deaf ears, firstly of those in that station and then the upper hierarchy in the Police Service and finally the Police Complaints Authority which you chair.

The basic tenets of policing are not observed—to protect and serve. Whenever you go to lodge a complaint, you are first asked if you are in possession of a vehicle as they have none to take them to the scene of the incident. Yet still, the police vehicles can be seen carrying women and children of officers to and from schools, places of work and homes. I have had the utmost respect for you and felt elated when you were made chairman of the Police Complaints Authority because of your fierce and aggressive passion for justice, and your detestation of lawlessness and malfeasance were commendable.

However, I myself have assisted the councillor for the area and others to write many letters to you to help remediate the challenges with those entrusted with the mandate to protect and serve but it is like our tears have turned to “a river of tears.” In case you may have forgotten since rising to this office, your basic functions and remit are as follows, according to the Ministry of National Security’s Web site. (Act 17 of 1993 established the Police Complaints Authority and Act 10 of 2000 amended the Police Complaints Authority Act to extend jurisdiction of the authority by enabling it to deal with the complaints made against members of the Special Reserve Police and Municipal Police):
• To receive complaints on the conduct of any police officer (Morvant residents have sent zillions—to use a hyperbole).
• To monitor the investigation of complaint by the Complaints Division of the Police Service as to ensure that the investigation is conducted impartially.
• To review, at the request of aggrieved persons, the disposition of the complaints by the Complaints Division of the Police Service.
• To report to the minister from time to time or at his request.

I thought that we would have seen by now some crack in the way the police, especially in my area, treat civilians because you attended a 12-day National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement conference in New Orleans where you gathered new protocols to govern the conduct of police officers. You told the press that the new protocols will guide officers as they deal with situations involving minors, disabled people, victims of police shootings and state of emergency incidents—all of which Morvant has experienced in high doses.

Lucky, when you asked how long it would take before the protocols you spoke of would be prepared, you stated that you had given your team three months to prepare the documents. You then mentioned that copies of each protocol would be issued to the Police Service Commission, the Commissioner of Police, the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the public for consultation. You mentioned that sometime around September 26-27, 2011. It is nearing five months and the face of our station is in dire need of changing (I only speak for my area).

You have always reiterated that the Police Complaints Authority is an independent body and that its remit enables it to investigate allegations of police brutality or excessive use of force. With all of this said, I ask you to state since being director/chair/head since December 29, 2010, all of your accomplishments in changing the face of the Police Service. I must also ask if the Morvant Police Station is part of the Police Service and as such do our complaints go to your unit or a separate division?

I ask for your compassion and mercy and for your help, and that you ask the occupants of the vehicles that use blaring sirens each time those powerful individuals have to be speedily driven to their respective destination to do the needy and pick you up from the ivory tower at the Hyatt where the “air is rare” and pay us peasants a visit to see how grassroots people live and how we are “protected and served.”

Lystra Glasgow

Morvant