The system works! Justice served to errant conductor

Aug 07, 2011 Letters

Dear Editor,
Shortly after the Homestretch Avenue tragedy, I penned a letter about an unpleasant encounter I had with a route 42 minibus driver, (BKK 4362) whom I had rebuked for overloading his vehicle.
Those who read that letter would recall that this conductor boasted that he had “a brother at CID,” and I couldn’t get him locked up. You may also recall that I’d taken his photograph and one of the bus licence number, which I had turned over to the police.
So here’s the sequel.
Police Public Relations Officer Ivelaw Whittaker passed my information over to Traffic officials, who immediately tried to locate this conductor. It wasn’t an easy task. Minibus BKK 4362 had disappeared from the road. The traffic ranks eventually located the vehicle and its female owner in Herstelling, East Bank Demerara. It turned out that the woman was the conductor’s wife. But the police were unaware of the connection, so the woman gave them a fictitious name and address for the conductor.
After impounding the bus, the cops went to the bogus address and of course failed to locate their man. Eventually, they released the vehicle. But one persistent senior rank decided to have the bus impounded again a few days later.
This time, the conductor with the ‘police contacts’ was on the vehicle. He was detained overnight at the Providence Police Station, and appeared in court the following day.
That conductor uttered not a single word in his defense as he stood before Magistrate Leslie Sobers. I was amazed. Was this ‘lamb’ the same ‘bad man conductor’ who had boasted about his brother at CID headquarters? Could it be that he had a twin brother?
For his conduct towards this passenger, Magistrate Sobers ordered him remanded for seven days. He is scheduled to return to court tomorrow to pay his fine for overloading. As for his wife, she was charged and fined by the same magistrate for providing the police with false information.
I wish to commend the traffic ranks for their persistence, and Magistrate Leslie Sobers for showing zero tolerance to this contemptuous minibus operator.
I also wish to commend another group of traffic ranks for refusing to be intimidated by the occupant of a pickup who had threatened to have them fired for stopping his vehicle.
This incident also occurred last month on the East Coast of Demerara and was witnessed by my Kaieteur News colleague, Dale Andrews. Dale told me that he was heading home one night when he saw a female traffic rank stop a pickup. The occupants were an overseas-based father and son. The father appeared to be intoxicated and the son was driving.
According to Dale, the female rank asked the driver to produce the permit that overseas-based drivers are given. He said that the father and son immediately began to hurl abuse at the hapless female rank. At that point, the policewoman sought ‘back up’ from her male colleagues who were nearby.
The most senior of the ranks ordered the occupants out of the pickup and got a ‘cussing out’ in response. Eventually, the two men exited the vehicle, with the father boasting about the big financial investments he had made in Guyana, and warning that he would contact a senior government official and have the ranks fired.
Outraged by the man’s arrogance, Dale said that he immediately identified himself and gave the man the government official’s cell number. The father took out his cell phone and contacted the official. A brief conversation followed, during which the man complained to the official and also remarked that someone identifying himself as “Dale Andrews from Kaieteur News” was nearby.
At that point, the government official at the other end immediately hung up the phone, leaving the boastful pickup occupant to face the music on his own. Father and son were then escorted to the Vigilance Police Station, where they were given free lodging for the night.
They were both charged and fined the following day.
But one cannot help but wonder how this incident would have turned out if Dale Andrews had not been present. One wonders if those ranks would have found themselves transferred to some remote location merely for doing their duty.
Again, kudos to the traffic police for not being bullied by those who boast of having friends in high places.
It’s time we all do the same.
Michael Jordan
Journalist

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