A young couple has been left traumatised after the “police” tried to search their Subryanville home on Wednesday night, saying they were searching for a missing child.
No police identification or search warrant was presented, leading to suspicions that the incident was an attempt to embarrass Kurt and Onika Pearson. They have since written the police force’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), calling for an investigation into their case. They have also copied their letter to the Commissioner of Police Henry Greene.
In the letter seen by this newspaper, the couple explained that around 8pm a man accompanied by a young lady, both of whom were in civilian clothing, called at the gate of their Lot 96 5th Avenue residence. On looking out, they also saw a blue and white police car parked west of the house.
On inquiring, the man, who later identified himself as a policeman, told them that he was looking for Lot 94. Kurt Pearson informed him that he was not familiar with the lot numbers and a neighbour subsequently intervened. The policeman told the neighbour he was looking for Lot 95 and he was directed to a neighbouring address and a nearby hotel.
After visiting both locations, the policeman and the woman returned to the Pearson’s residence. The couple again went out to meet him and he informed that he was looking for Lot 96. The couple inquired what the problem was and the policeman informed them that he was looking for a missing child. “I asked him whether he was a police and he responded yes. I asked him what was his name and he refused to answer,” Kurt Pearson said in the letter.
He added that his wife pointed out to the policeman that he had asked for Lot 94, then told the Lot 95 and was now looking for Lot 96. The policeman said that it was while at the hotel that he received a call informing him that the child was at Lot 96.
After the couple inquired about the missing child, the woman told them that she left her child at a day care and when she went to uplift the child, the day care was open but there was no trace of her child or anyone else. When she tried to contact the owner of the day care, her attempts were unsuccessful.
The policeman then said he wanted to search the couple’s house for the child. “My wife then said ‘sir, my western neighbour’s lot is 96 and the family who resides on the bottom flat of my home is also lot 96, so why are you so adamant that you must come and search our home?’” Kurt Pearson recounted. His wife also inquired whether the police had a warrant but he did not respond. “The man began behaving in a disrespectful manner towards us and said that he will call for backup because we were being difficult,” he added.
According to the letter, about 15 minutes later, a silver grey car pulled up and two men came out wearing dark blue clothing.
Each of them was carrying big guns. “One of them asked to speak with us; he entered the yard and came up the step. He asked us to allow the young lady to search our home for the child but we responded that we do not know the young lady neither do we have her child. We then asked him whether he had a warrant but he did not respond. “Further, since these men were adamant to search our home, we told them that we will permit the search but it must be done in the presence of the media, a few minutes after they entered their cars and left,” the letter stated.
Kurt, who is a Customs Officer along with Onika, who is a Welfare Officer, told Stabroek News that the incident has left them baffled. The Pearsons, who are also both Ministers of the Full Gospel Fellowship of Churches, said that they decided they would go public over the strange happenings since they had nothing to hide. They expressed the belief that the man and woman were sent with an ulterior motive since the pieces of the story do not add up. They pointed out that they were very persistent in wanting to search their home. They said that one day after the incident, they were still shaken since they did not know if any strange persons would come back to their home.
They said that they first want to clarify whether the men who visited were indeed policemen as they did not produce either identification or a search warrant. They said that in the seven years they have been living in the area, they were never involved in a police problem. They said too that what was even more troubling is the fact that no information, such as the name and the sex of the child, was provided even though they had inquired.
They said that neighbours came out and were heckling them. “We are more upset at these people’s (the ‘police’) actions. We were not embarrassed because we had nothing to hide,” Onika said.
The couple is appealing for justice since they believe that their democratic rights were trampled upon.
