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Police accused of assaulting White Castle proprietor, staff
Ranks from the Guyana Police Force’s Tactical Services Unit (TSU) are accused of assaulting the proprietor of the White Castle Fish Shop, Jermaine Langevine and two of his staff members, Friday night after the businessman questioned their demands for the untimely closure of his business place.
Pearl Haynes following the police abuse.
The ranks swooped down at the location at around 10:30pm and ordered the businessman to shut down the popular hangout spot. According to eyewitnesses, including a reporter from this newspaper, Langevine told them that he has a different order from the Commander of ‘A’ Division.
Nevertheless, Langevine ordered the DJ to turn off the music and called the Commander, George Vyphuis from his mobile phone. The ranks reacted and immediately grabbed Langevine’s dreadlocks, took away his phone and dragged him inside the building.
“I don’t care who is Vyphuis. I am Sergeant Lindo, shut down this f%$#!@& place now,” one of the ranks said.
The Commander had given the nightspot up to 1am to provide entertainment on their busiest day, which is Friday.
Vyphuis and Langevine had met previously, as this newspaper had reported, to deal with several issues, including traffic congestion, security and the noise nuisance. An amicable agreement with the police providing traffic ranks daily, was reached.
When the ranks grabbed Langevine, one of the waitresses, Pearl Haynes, questioned the police’s behaviour and the result was a gun butt to her head and another one to her mouth. Following this, the police dragged Langevine to the back of their pickup truck.
After gun-butting Haynes, who fell to the ground, and dragging Langevine to the pickup, several patrons flocked the police van where the ranks repeatedly stamped Langevine. When one of the businessman’s assistants, Delon Williams, asked the reason for the mistreatment, he received an answer that he did not bargain for Friday night.
Jermaine Langevine after his release from the lockups.
The police ranks lashed Williams in his face with one of their rifles and threw him in the back of the pick-up with Langevine. It is at this point that they fired two gunshots in the air and sped off to the Police Station where Langevine and Williams were kept overnight.
When this newspaper asked one of the ranks for the reason of the arrests Friday night, he declined comment, stating that the Police Station will be in a better position to offer comments. Up to press time, the reasons for the incarcerations were still unclear. The men were not charged but were released following the signing of a reconnaissance.
Langevine made it clear yesterday, following his release from the lockups, that he is not against the police, but feels that a particular police officer is taking the law into his own hands. He said that he believes the officer is acting unilaterally.
“I always cooperate with the police. I am not against the police, but a particular Sergeant Lindo is behaving like he has his own Police Force. He has his own authority to do people what he feels like and that cannot be right,” Langevine told this newspaper yesterday.
Delon Williams
He called for the relevant authorities to investigate this kind of behaviour that he called “reason-less” and “unnecessary” because he was not in any violation of the law. He said that security was at its best and there was a smooth flow of traffic Friday night.
He questioned the motive behind the police’s behaviour. He said that if it is that some aspect of his business is a problem for the lawmen, it could have been dealt with professionally. Langevine said the issue may engage the attention of his lawyers.
Kaieteur News is aware of the standing order that prohibits Divisional Commanders from speaking to the media. A comment from Vyphuis on this matter would have been sought under normal circumstances.
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