Cops held for alleged assault to be questioned today

A POLICE corporal and three constables of the Western Division Task Force who surrendered to the Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) on Wednesday afternoon, are expected to be questioned today in connection with the alleged assault of a La Puerta man.

On Wednesday morning, a police team went to a station in the west to detain the four, but they were out on patrol. When they returned, they were told PSB officers wanted to speak with them and they went to the PSB office.

They were told they were the subject of an investigation into an alleged assault and the corporal and one of the constables were taken to the Central Police Station, where they were put in a cell, while the two other constables were put in a cell at the Barataria Police Station.

Senior Western Division officers said yesterday the incident stemmed from a report of a shooting at La Puerta earlier this year when the four officers responded and charged the accuser with obstructing the police.

However, the man went to the PSB office with his stepfather, who works at the St James Police Station, and reported he had been assaulted by the officers. This led to an investigation which led to them being detained.

Senior officers said yesterday the detention of the four continues to be a source of concern for other police, who are now expressing fear that they could make themselves open to allegations and subsequent arrest. Western Division police said yesterday they will be seeking guidance from the Police Social and Welfare Association.

Yesterday association president Insp Michael Seales said, “It is always prudent to wait and see the outcome of the investigation by the PSB.”

But he added, “The officers who are in custody are considered some of the best officers and role models in the Western Division, so it is actually baffling for the association how we arrived at this point.

“We are asking the officers to be of good courage and to understand that even when you do something right you are always under threats from somebody with evil intentions and we just to have to let it play itself out and the association will continue to stand with the officers who have done things correctly.”