Anti-crime ranks stop, harass K/News staffer for bribe

Sep 22, 2016 News

– police try to locate culprits

It seems like ranks are not heeding the acting Commissioner of Police, David Ramnarine’s warning.

Kaieteur News staffer, Harry Brijmohan

Less than a month ago, Ramnarine reminded the force that ranks from the anti-crime unit are not permitted to conduct the task of traffic ranks and that action will be taken against those accused of unprofessional conduct.
Last Saturday, a Kaieteur News staffer, Harry Brijmohan was harassed and made to pay a bribe after five anti-crime patrol ranks stopped him.
Brijmohan, who was riding a CG motorcycle, was a short distance from his home and decided to remove his helmet when the ranks stopped him—two of the ranks were in plain clothes.
This was around 15:00 hrs when the lawmen stopped him.
The Kaieteur News staffer acknowledged that he broke the law and was willing to collect a ticket but the policemen told him that the offence was a non bailable one and that he needed to spend 72 hours behind bars.
When asked to make a phone call, Brijmohan was informed that he could not make any calls and would have to wait after 72 hours.
Here is how everything started; the young man was heading west along the road that leads to Providence New Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD). It is the road next to the stadium.
The policemen were in an unmarked vehicle, heading in the opposite direction and one of the ranks signaled him to stop.
When he did, they asked him for his documents and then asked him to empty his pockets after which they searched him—they did not find anything illegal yet they told him that they had to charge him and he will be placed before the court.

Acting Commissioner, David Ramnarine

“One of them tell me that I should have ride away that his gun rusty because long he ain’t use it. They ask where I working and then they say where I working ain’t matter,” Brijmohan recounted.
He said that the men placed his motorcycle at the back of their vehicle and informed him that he had to go to the station.
“They drive out to the junction. While driving, the two at the back telling me that I gun get charge and then they say that I can do something before I reach,” Brijmohan said.
He claimed that one of the men asked him if he had money to which he responded in the negative but another rank interjected and said that he was lying. Apparently when the motorcyclist reached for his licence in his wallet, the rank saw that he had money on him.
“They say that once I reached at the station then I can’t do anything but I can do something before I reached and I said I got $3,000 and then they say no, is five of them and I got to give them $5000. I said no and they telling me that I got no other option,” Brijmohan recalled.
He said that while he was bargaining with the two police ranks, trying not to hand over all his cash, another rank said that they did not drink anything for the day.
In the end, he handed over $5,000 to the ranks and was allowed to go home.
A statement was taken from Brijmohan yesterday as the police seek to locate the policemen in question.

1 thoughts on “Anti-crime ranks stop, harass K/News staffer for bribe”

carl veecock September 22, 2016 at 1:26 am

Did the police vehicle carry a plate number?

That could have been snapshot easily for evidence.

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