Handcuffs should always be used when making an arrest

Jul 10, 2013 Letters

Dear Editor,
Very often, I question the insanity of police officers making an arrest with little or no concern for their own physical safety. As the proud father of a daughter who is a Detective Investigator in New York, who is married to a New York City Police officer, I am very familiar with police arrest procedures, and the hidden fear I carry every day.
I know the dangers of the profession she has chosen. Handcuffs should always be used when making an arrest, and while transporting prisoners.
Let me be emphatically clear on this: A police officer cannot arrest someone just because s/he feels like it or has a vague hunch that someone might be a criminal. Police officers have to be able to justify their arrest, usually by showing some tangible evidence that led them to probable cause. There are only a very limited number of circumstances that the police may make a legal arrest so that our rights remain protected: The officer personally observed a crime; the officer has probable cause to believe that the person arrested has committed a crime; or the officer has an arrest warrant issued by a judge or magistrate.
One universal rule police officers must follow is that they are not allowed to use excessive force or treat the arrestee cruelly. Generally, police officers are only allowed to use the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves and bring the suspect into police custody. This is why a person should never resist an arrest or argue with the police. For the more a suspect struggles, the more force is required for the police to do their job.
The use of handcuffs in making an arrest, is to protect a police officer. But sometimes they are designed to help the officer document the arrest, and to help him/her avoid making a legal mistake which could ruin the prosecution’s case in a criminal trial. But when a prisoner is being transported from one facility to another, there is absolute no excuse not to restrain the prisoner to prevent his escape.
Apparently, the death of Police officer Derwin Pitman who recently collapsed and died in a North Sophia alleyway while chasing an escaped prisoner did nothing to enforce the need to restrain prisoners. Just a few days ago, Police Constable Elton Benjamin was lucky to have survived a stab wound to his lower jaw from another escapee, Jermaine Jerrick. The prisoner is known to be a member of the notorious Aranka Gang that terrorized gold miners a few years ago, and was being held at the Cove and John Police Station lock-ups on possession of narcotics. Constable Benjamin fell for the oldest trick in the book, allowing a dangerous Jerrick to use the outdoor toilet without restraining him with handcuffs or leg cuffs.
Not without justification, the Guyana Police have built a reputation of being brutal at times. But recently, I have noticed a significant improvement toward professionalism in the Force even though efforts by Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee to bring about much needed reform to this institution, was shot down by the joint opposition. But while adjusting to becoming more professional, police officers need not consider legal or public opinion when restraining persons while making a legal arrest or transporting prisoners from one facility to another, provided brutality is not used.
The safety of the police officer is paramount. Sadly, there are still too many out there that abuse their authority as law-enforcement officers and give the institution a bad name in the process.
These disgraced rogue cops must be dealt with severely. However, I commend those hard working, dedicated police officers who put their lives on the line for us daily, to keep us safe from criminals. Like everyone else, law-enforcement officers have families that look forward to their safe return home after a day’s work.
At the least, they deserve our respect and gratitude.
Harry Gill

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Handcuffs should always be used when making an arrest

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