There are many ignoramuses in the Guyana Police Force

Jul 27, 2015 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Some Guyanese have a way of at times touching you when they speak. These touches are harmless gesticulations and are part of the manner in which we communicate with each other. For example, you may be trying to convince someone about something and you may tap them or rest your hand on their shoulder.
This happened to me once when I was speaking to a policeman. The police looked at me and asked, “Comrade, why are you assaulting me?”
I did not take him seriously and continued the conversation. The policeman got dead serious, “Comrade, you just assaulted me.”
I laughed. He again repeated, “You just assaulted me.”
That incident drove home to me the level of ignorance that exists within the Guyana Police Force. There is a lot of ignorance in the Guyana Police Force. There are also a great many ignoramuses in the Guyana Police Force.
There are some police ranks who believe they alone know the law. Many times, however, these same persons are ignorant of the law, thoroughly ignorant. Many of them are downright stupid and dotish. These persons need to either be retrained or weeded out of the Guyana Police Force. They are clueless about the laws they have to enforce. They use the coercive power at their disposal in an abusive manner and they interpret the law to justify their abusive behaviour.
You have to be mindful when you are in the presence of the ignoramuses in the Guyana Police Force. You have to be careful that when you are passing near them that your shirt sleeve does not brush against them because some of them actually believe that any form of contact between a civilian and a police rank constitutes assault. This is the level of ignorance that exists within the Guyana Police Force.
That, of course, is not the law. The law is very clear on what forms of contact constitutes assault. For contact to be deemed assault it has to create fear and apprehension in the person touched that imminent harm is likely. If these elements are not met, there is no assault. But try telling that to some junior police ranks and even to some Commanders, and you will realize the lack of knowledge of the law that exists within the Guyana Police Force.
If a policeman is conducting traffic duties on the road, if that policeman is directing four lanes of traffic, he is expected to do so in a fair and efficient manner. If this is not happening, any citizen has a right to bring this matter to the attention of the erring rank. The problem in Guyana is that some policemen feel that no civilian should be telling them how to do their job. They have authoritarian streaks and they feel that they have license to do what they please.
Well, they are not supposed to do as they feel and citizens have a democratic right to suggest to a policeman that what he is doing is wrong or inadvisable. This happened recently and what resulted was that the policeman refused to exercise reason. He rebuked the individual who brought certain things to his attention and when the individual tried to see his regulation number, he accused the person of assault. Since when does attempting to ascertain the regulation number of a policeman constitute assault?
In prior releases to the public, the Guyana Police Force had made it clear that police ranks must display their regulation number. If ever a uniformed police rank stops me on the road and that rank does not have displayed on his person, his regulation number, then I am not going to listen to that rank because I do not know if he is an impersonator. We once had impersonators robbing members of the public as they drove to the airport?
A uniformed policeman cannot be performing his duties without his regulation number. This is against the standing orders of the Guyana Police Force. Any uniformed rank carrying out his duties without displaying his regulation number should be subject to discipline.
But what compounds the problem is when senior officers join in the charade and instead of investigating properly, decide in a high-handed manner to order the arrest of a civilian. Even more frightening is when lies are resorted to defend abuse of police powers.
A senior officer investigating a matter is told that a police rank claimed he was assaulted. But the truth is that in his statement, the police rank made no such claim of assault. So why were lies resorted to justify curtailing the freedom of a citizen who is alleged to have demanded to see the regulation number of a police rank?
You want to know why? The reason is because this is the level of disregard for authority that exists within the Guyana Police Force.
And it all stems from ignorance- ignorance of the law and ignorance of what is required of a responsible and professional police officer.

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