-Eve Leary: they were arrested for disorderly behaviour
Having spent a few hours in the Brickdam lock-ups, Owen John now feels that he can endure anything. On Saturday, he and his two sons Fabio and Michael John were arrested under controversial circumstances and were forced to spend several hours in the lock-ups.
According to him, when he and his sons first entered the lock-ups they were shocked to see about 40 men lying on a concrete floor. Some were lying on a sheet; others were on old newspaper, and the rest on just the bare concrete. “It was not a pleasant sight at all”, he stated.
“The place is an abomination”, Owen John said, “not even a dog or a pig should be kept in such conditions.” “The place is stink and very insanitary and inhumane”, he emphasised.
Being a man associated with the health sector he is well aware of the dangers that can be caused by living in such conditions. John is the Assistant Director of Nursing Services and the Coordinator of In-service Education for Nurses at the Georgetown Public Hospital. He opined that the conditions were dangerous to health.
He said that while he was in the lock-ups, he observed a man with cuts on his mouth and back “oozing with puss.” According to him the man was clearly in need of medical attention but this was not done” although he had recommended it.
The sanitary facilities are poor and need to be addressed, John opined. Under the current system, if the inmates want to have a bath there is a hose in the area that could be used. He pointed out that there was a separate area set aside where persons could urinate or defecate. This set up, he said was obviously less than healthy.
He said when it came to the meals, “the officers passed out a couple loaves of bread and a half bucket of tea”.
Afterwards, a bucket with rice was handed out, where the prisoners again helped themselves.
The man recounted that some persons had utensils while others simply pushed their hands into the bucket and took out food.
But he pointed out that some prisoners had relatives who brought food for them. He said that there clearly exists a sense of community among the prisoners as they would willingly share food among themselves.
“But once I could survive those lock-ups, I can deal with anything” he remarked.
Innocent of any crime
John is adamant that he and his sons should not have been in the lock-ups in the first place. Owen John and his wife Earlene John recently recounted what was described as a “horrific experience” which they said demonstrated police unprofessionalism at its worst. This assertion, however, has since been refuted by the Police.
According to the Johns, about nine armed police officers entered their Romulus Street, Agricola home at around 4 am last Saturday without showing a search warrant, and proceeded to ransack sections of their home and physically assault the male residents before taking them to the Brickdam lock-ups.
This came after the men attempted to enter their yard and home without permission. Both Johns recounted hearing a knock at the side of the house and waking up shortly after only to see an armed policeman standing on their fence and several other officers outside of their gate.
The distraught parents recalled the agony of seeing their sons being roughed up at the hands of the police, while the officers conducted a search for drugs, arms and ammunition. According to them, their son Michael was slapped twice when he objected to the behaviour of the police officers. Their other son Fabio (who lives on the lower flat of the premises) was also assaulted, when he objected to the man taking his father away to place him in the police vehicle. Owen John recalled seeing an officer choking Fabio while two other ranks were holding him by the arms. He said that his son was then dragged down the steps and placed in the police van to join him. Shortly after, Michael was taken to the van.
According to Owen John, four other men from the area were placed into the van and they were taken to the Brickdam Police Station, where they spent approximately eight hours in the lock ups. Owen John said that it was only after they were released that the trio discovered that they had been arrested for disorderly behaviour, obstructing a police officer and assaulting a police officer, charges which he vehemently denied.
The police meanwhile in a press release said that the three men were arrested for disorderly behaviour. According to the police, “the operation conducted in the Agricola community was in response to recent reports of armed robberies committed on homes in the community by gangs of at least six men and in keeping with Police Force’s mandate to ensure the safety and security of citizens.”
The release said that throughout the encounter Owen John was aggressive and was at times verbally abusive and disorderly in his behaviour. The Police said “while the search was being carried out by the ranks Mr. Owen John again became abusive to the ranks and began to behave in a disorderly manner. Despite being spoken to by the Officer in charge several times, he continued to do so while using a series of expletives. At this stage it was decided to arrest him for his unlawful behaviour.”
Further, the release said that “in making the arrest the Officer in charge held on to Mr. Owen John who promptly struck away his hand and pushed him aside. Two other police ranks went to the assistance of the Officer and at this stage John’s two sons, Fabio and Michael, who were there along with their mother, intervened in an effort to prevent their father from being arrested. A scuffle ensued between the police ranks and the three men who were subsequently arrested.”
The police also stated that the only reason a guard was up on the fence, was that he could knock on a part of the house to wake up the family, especially since the gate was locked and several ferocious looking dogs were loose in the yard.
The Johns are adamant that they did nothing wrong and said that they are all decent citizens. Owen John said that he is the Chairperson of the Rome Athletics Club and also a Vice President in the Agricola Restoration Association. Fabio is a trained teacher at a primary school in Agricola, while Michael is currently a student at the University of Guyana and a layout artist at a newspaper. The Johns are also the parents of local table tennis star Michelle John, who is currently overseas studying.
The family members are calling for an apology. They say that while the police have an important job to do, these officers have to demonstrate that they are law- abiding citizens and only then can they fully earn the respect of the public.
