In our editorial published on Tuesday, December 2 under the caption ‘Misrepresenting police conduct,’ reference was made to incidents of attempted rape and rape which had occurred at ‘B’ Division Headquarters in New Amsterdam and at the Springlands Police Station, respectively. The editorial went on to advert to the transfer of the Commander of ‘C’ Division, Assistant Commissioner Paulette Morrison following the torture case at Leonora Police Station, and the suggestion was made that the authorities had been seeking a scapegoat. The editorial then went on to ask whether headquarters would “similarly transfer” the Commander of ‘B’ Division, Assistant Commissioner Stephen Merai.
We have been advised that Assistant Commissioner Merai did not assume command of ‘B’ Division until November 19, 2009, while the alleged rape at Springlands Station flowed from an incident which occurred on October 21. It was under Assistant Commissioner Merai’s watch that the matter was investigated and persons charged.
In our edition of December 2 (the day after the editorial was written, albeit the same day as it appeared) we reported that a teenager had been placed on bail at the Whim Magistrate’s Court after being charged with carnal knowledge. A police press statement on which the report was based said that originally it had been indicated that the teen was a member of a Community Policing Group, but that investigations had revealed this to be untrue. In our edition yesterday we reported that two police constables from the Springlands station had also been charged with indecent assault in the case.
We have also been advised that there was no incident of alleged rape at ‘B’ Division Headquarters, New Amsterdam, as the editorial said; this incident was alleged to have taken place at Eve Leary. The reference in the editorial had its origins in an unclearly phrased press release from GINA, dated November 27, which lent itself to the interpretation that the headquarters mentioned were in Berbice.