“Service and Protection,” this has been the ironic motto of the Guyana Police Force since its formation. It is no secret that the force remains one of the most distrusted institutions in the country. This is due to its historic and present day participation in violent and corrupt activities. There is still however, a conditioned belief that the police are there to help keep us safe. This belief makes it easier for persons to dismiss allegations of police brutality, as being necessary to protect loved ones and their possessions from harm or theft. While from young we are conditioned to see police as being a required authority worthy of respect, police are not taught to see themselves as part of the masses. This of course has had disastrous consequences on those who have had the misfortune of questioning the authority of our nation’s peace officers.
Earlier this year, a US Department of Justice report stated that police brutality and extrajudicial killing rates are extremely high in Guyana. This is not surprising given the colonial legacy from which the GPF was born. Early colonists started the policing system aimed at controlling the labour and population of emancipated slaves and indentured servants. Many were imprisoned for idleness and vagrancy. Violent force against black and brown bodies was legitimized as necessary to bring about law and order. Modern day policing has not significantly changed from this model and sees officers still performing the racist and capitalist driven work of the colonial state.
Over the years, allegations of police brutality and extrajudicial killings have frequently surfaced in the media. The most recently publicized of these cases is that of a teenager who was kidnapped, beaten and burned with hot water by two officers. Commissioner of Police Leslie James made public that the two officers are brothers and are sons of a senior member of the force. While some might disregard this as just a case of two errant cops flexing their privilege, it’s actually a microcosm of the general attitudes and values of the force that enables the legitimization of violence.
The assault the police force often carries out on the Guyanese public spans the areas of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Their targets are often young, poor and black. Some cases that stand out in our memories are 17 year old Shaquille Grant who was shot and killed by police, teenager Colwyn Harding who alleged that he was raped with a baton by police and a 15 year old young man who had methylated spirits thrown on his genitals and lit on fire by police. Untrained on how to respond to persons who are mentally ill, officers frequently maim or kill them. This was seen in 2018 with the shooting and killing of Marlon Fredericks who was a mentally ill man. Victims of police assault often garner no sympathy given that they are often likened to criminals. Some centre their positive interactions with the police against many allegations of police abuse and corruption. When these cases are confirmed as true, they are usually disregarded as being due to the waywardness of a bad cop or two or as being necessary to cleanse the criminal elements from our midst.
The bodies available to hold police accountable are very limited. While one can aim to go through the courts, many magistrates rarely go against the word of our sworn peace officers. There is of course the Police Complaints Authority but its existence seems more ornamental than anything else. The PCA is notorious for its lethargic approach towards dealing with allegations of police brutality. Many file complaints against officers at the PCA only to never hear back a word on their complaint, even after many enquiries. One must ask who really these systems and institutions are set up to protect and if it is not the public, what then are our alternatives to justice?
Advice is often given on how one must interact with the police given the frequency with which citizens are assaulted, maimed and killed by the men and women in blue. Black persons especially are taught that they should never give police cause to lose their tempers, as the results could be disastrous for them. We put the responsibility and blame for police violence on the victim, rather than analyzing whether or not there is something fundamentally wrong with our policing system. Police violence and murders won’t stop if only we teach our children how to talk and act around officers; it stops when we hold officers accountable and significantly change the attitudes and values within the police force.
