In a recent interview, the parent told Stabroek News that he became the target of verbal abuse by parents of some of the boys. He said he then decided to drop the issue because he did not want to make enemies with the people whom he had to live around. Additionally, he revealed that his son had refused to return to school and he was forced to send him abroad. Two other students who were involved also opted not to return to school and have instead enrolled at the Linden Technical Institute.
According to the man, the abuse started when he hired a lawyer who had advised him to take two other students along with his son. “De parents didn’t want fuh cooperate and dey use to be [threatening] me, so for peace sake I just let it ride,” he said. He also said he did not believe the Department of Education Schools’ Welfare Unit had taken the matter seriously. This newspaper understands that the police sergeant accused in the matter has since been transferred from the district.
The parent said the issue also had a negative psychological effect on his son, who asked him to drop it. However, he said every day members of the public enquire about the outcome of the matter.
Recently, a group of residents was discussing the effects issues of this nature are likely to have on the community and children. They opined that because persons who had experienced abuse at the hands of law enforcement officers do not get the support of the community, children are forced to live with the bad memories and without any form of justice. “It is time that we get strong and call wrong, wrong and let the law deal with those who are found faulting. Is sad that de man had to send he son out de country because of a mess like duh and it ain’t mean dat because he gan dat he gon forget ‘bout it. It gon haunt he for de rest of he life and only God knows what could be de repercussions,” one opined. Several residents also noted the recent torture of a teen suspect at the hands of police on the West Coast Demerara.
The parents of the boys had told this newspaper that the teens had been taken to the police station by a school’s welfare Officer after a report was filed against them. They were then reportedly told that the matter was serious and that they would be kept at the station while investigations were being conducted. The boys were then left in the custody of the ranks and the welfare officers. The teens’ parents were then advised to provide clothing other than school uniforms for their children. According to reports, the investigations started some time after 11 am and ended after 8 pm. When the parents returned they were informed that their children had been questioned individually and because of the time it took to do so some of them were sent home.
However, this newspaper understands that before the last boys left the station they claimed that a police officer had abused them. “They started talking about it even before we left the station and continued to give more details as we were walking along the street. All of them said that they were made to take out their penises and pump [masturbate] in front the police officer and they said that he told them if they didn’t do it he was going to put them in the lockups,” the parent said. “My son does not live with me and he had already left for home so I asked him the next morning and he told me the same thing,” he added.
The matter was reported the following day to the Schools’ Welfare Unit which then forwarded it to the commander of the Police ‘E and F’ Division at Mackenzie. According to the parents, the unit said it had been informed about the incident and the complaint had been forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions in Georgetown. They had also been advised that an investigation would be conducted.
