The mother who is from Bartlett Hill, Eight Mile Rock is alleging that three officers ﾖ whom she can identify by their numbers ﾖ beat her 15-year-old daughter about the body, leaving the youngster swollen from head to toe.
According to the mother, who has retained attorney K. Brian Hanna, the alleged abuse by two particular officers from the Eight Mile Rock Police Station started back around August 19, 2005.
“My older daughter had an incident with a reserve police officer and from that day, my youngest daughter and son were being harassed by these officers at the Eight Mile Rock Police station,” claimed the very angry mother.
Alleging that she reported the matters to the Eight Mile Rock Police station about four or five times, the mother added, “I got no results!”
“And then last week my daughter and son were again abused by these same two officers when they were parting a fight,” she added.
“I went back to Mr. Leeland Russell again and reported the matter.” She said she even went as far as calling the Corrupt Unit, “over and over nobody was there.”
Now, she added, these unfounded attack incidents have come to a boiling point.
“Wednesday morning, my daughter was beaten by three police officers,” she said. “When I reached the door, the three officers were pounding on my child.”
The mother maintains that she was called to the office ﾖ Urban Renewal office ﾖ where the incident took place.
“I asked them what happened and I could see hand prints on my child’s face and I said to him don’t do it.”
The mother alleged that one of the officers grabbed her hand, pulled it back roughly and, “told me he’d break my hand.”
She noted that the officer pushed her, and she retaliated verbally. “I said please don’t push me, he continued to push me and I told him don’t push me because I am not his friend.”
The furious mother said, she was placed in the patrol car and taken to the police station.
“When I reached the station, a female officer popped a word at me and I popped a word at her and told her respect is earned.”
At that point, she claimed she was arrested and charged. “I decided then that I was tired of these two particular officers ﾖ every- where my child go ﾖ they harass her. My child don’t have a criminal record, never had a criminal record.”
This kind of behaviour by the police must stop, the mother added.
“Where do we go as citizens to get our rights when we’re being abused by the very people who have been put in the system to help us?” the mother asked.
“Where do we go as citizens of the country?”
The mother was charged with obstructing justice.
Mr. Hanna noted that the girl’s mother retained his law firm to represent her and her daughter in the criminal matter.
Mother and daughter are expected in court Monday and will plead not guilty, said the attorney.
“In the meantime we will be filing a Writ against the officers, the COP and the Attorney General and we would be looking for compensation, with regard to the abuse claims,” added Mr. Hanna.
Mr. Hanna noted that the documents will be filed as early as next week.
Source: The Freeport News
