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Last Thursday night members of the Guyana Police Force invaded the yard and home of former Director of Sports, Christopher Jones, under the pretext of simple larceny. The manner in which the raid was done, for that is what it was, reminded Guyanese of a period many thought was behind us.
It reminded us of the days of Skaka Blair of Buxton. In April 2002 the police invaded his home on allegation that he had ammunition within his possession and shot him dead in the presence of his family. It reminded us of the days when members of Force felt they were law unto them themselves and the motto “Service and Protection” was only applicable to the political class and certain ‘elites’ connected to the ruling party. The invasion of Mr. Jones’ yard and home evoked memories too gruesome to forget and which many sought to put behind them in the hope those dark days were over.
Thankfully, Mr. Jones is alive but the experience he, his wife and children suffered is a lesson for us in what to expect and what we must not accept. We have been there before, seen worse and in less than a month under the regime fears are being realised. The Police could have conducted themselves better. Guyanese have seen better in the last five years. The Force under the previous APNU+AFC regime had cause to investigate allegations of impropriety by PPP/C ministers and other officials who served under that administration. The former administration did not seek to embarrass them or criminalise them outside of conducting a procedure that all are subjected to under those circumstances.
Those persons were treated with respect and dignity. They were invited to the Police Department to come on their own volition. Mr. Jones did not get that respect, leaving one to wonder if this will be the modus operandi of the government which is akin to public lynching. Without due process the police behaviour seemed designed not only to intimidate and embarrass Mr. Jones but to convict him in the court of public opinion in the worst possible way.
So consumed were they with this public lynching they disregarded an injunction, a legal document signed by no less than a sitting Judge. This is a clear contempt for law and order, and we must ask ourselves what more are we to expect of the Police Force under the command of Mr. Nigel Hoppie and the current political directorate Minister Robeson Benn. Now that there exists an opportunity to compare, the Coalition and former Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan set a tone how the police will serve and protect the citizens, even when accused.
Guyana subscribes to the common law principle where a person is innocent until proven guilty The treatment meted out to Mr. Jones suggested otherwise. It also highlighted a marked difference in what the previous administration sought to do and how they treated their political opponents. Where the Force has demonstrated for the five years it operated at a higher level, officers must eschew behaviours that will create confrontation with the public, thereby undermining efforts at good policing and crime fighting.
Given the success of the Force is in large part reliant on its relationship with the citizenry acting Commissioner of Police Hoppie is called on to review the incident of last Thursday. All authorities involved in issuing orders or instructions or participating in that exercise should be subjected to a review of their conduct. Review should also examine the human element and the emotional trauma the Jones family and community were subjected to. Thursday evening’s incident evoked painful memories which could set back law and order in society by creating a new wave of hostile community/police relations.
