Enmore/Foulis residents call for corruption probe at Enmore station

-accuse rogue police of shake downs

Accusing ranks stationed at the Enmore Police Station of corruption, including regular shakedowns for bribes, residents of Enmore/Foulis, East Coast Demerara, have signed a petition calling for acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine to launch an investigation.

“We are just fed up with the behaviour of the police,” residents stated in the December 18th, 2017 petition, a copy of which was seen by Stabroek News.

The petition protests the behaviour of “most of the ranks” at the Enmore station and particularly those patrolling with vehicles.  

It alleges that ranks stop and harass law-abiding residents, irrespective of age and gender, every day and night.

It further notes that during patrols, drivers are stopped by the police, who demand money with the threat of detention at the station.

It also says ranks focus a lot of attention on drinking spots and “shake down” the drivers leaving these places. (As part of a campaign to curb drinking and driving, the police force’s Traffic Department has targeted drivers leaving bars.)

Additionally, the petition states that the station vehicle is being driven recklessly and that reports of robberies along lonely roadways on a regular basis are being ignored.

Stabroek News was unable to confirm whether the petition was submitted to the Office of the Police Commissioner. However, Commander of ‘C’ Division Calvin Brutus told Stabroek News on Monday that he was not aware of the petition, while noting then that he had only resumed duties as Commander of the division, which governs the Enmore station, a week and half prior.

“When I took over I didn’t receive any information of the sort, but if we do have such allegations we need to get the OPR [Office of Professional Responsibility] to investigate immediately,” Brutus said on Monday.

On Thursday, he told Stabroek News that after being informed of the petition, he launched a preliminary investigation and learnt that it was organised by a well-known resident. He said that he has since asked his Deputy Commander to fix a meeting with the individual to discuss the complaints.

Brutus did note that based on the statistics for the division over the past nine months, the police did not receive reports of robbery of any kind from the community.