Questioning the rationale behind the recent promotion of the two `torture’ cops, Chairman of the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) Mike McCormack says that the “bizarre incident” should be reversed immediately and result in the resignation of Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee.
“The Minister of Home Affairs who appears to have tried to wash his hands of this particular thing as if it had nothing to do with him should be read the riot act… he should have resigned,” he said, adding that such a political figure should not just wash his hands of what is taking place.
The GHRA is the latest civil society body to condemn the promotions which have caused public outrage.
In an exclusive interview with Stabroek News, McCormack said those in authority ought to recognize the cost of such actions to the image of the force and the public’s confidence in the law enforcement body which over the years has struggled to gain public trust and support.
He opined that if not corrected immediately the consequences can be great and have far reaching implications.
Sergeant Narine Lall and Constable Mohanram Dolai were promoted by the Police Service Com-mission (PSC) and Acting Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud respectively. Their names were on a promotion list dispatched by the force on January 2 this year.
It must be noted the public was unaware that the duo was reinstated in the first place. Though the criminal case against them was thrown out on a technicality – the tortured teen and other witnesses failed to show up – many observers felt that being found liable by a High Court judge was enough for them to have been booted out of the force immediately. Because they were found liable, the judge awarded the boy $6.5 million compensation.
McCormack said the GHRA like the rest of the country was “stunned” by both the decision to promote the duo and then the subsequent justification. “Had it been an oversight one could have said ok let’s move on but it was clearly a considered decision,” he said.
What was explained to this newspaper, was that Lall was promoted based on a recommendation made by the acting Police Commissioner. It would appear that Dolai’s promotion was made without proper consultation with senior members of the force. Persaud would have been well aware of the identities of the duo as when the incident occurred in 2009, he held the office of Crime Chief.
McCormack told Stabroek News that with change comes improvement and as such one would have hoped that with a new commissioner at the helm, things would have gotten better and moved forward.
He was making reference to Persaud who became top cop last year following the retirement of Leroy Brumell.
“Unfortunately this [the promotions] is a serious setback. One would hope internally even at this stage the leadership of the police force would abandon this entrenched attitude if we are going to see it through. If [only] they would back track and accept that this was a serious mistake,” he said.
Already there have been numerous concerns that ranks who work hard and deserved to be promoted have not been. This recent situation had raised questions as to how eligibility for promotion is identified. Stabroek News was told that this responsibility lies in the hands of two senior ranks one of whom is Persaud.
Noting that the association’s first thought was to investigate some of the other complaints about the promotions process McCormack said that while it is appalling to the ordinary citizens, one does not need to be an expert “to appreciate how obnoxious that particular promotion is.”
He questioned whether the Force and the PSC took into account how these promotions would appear to citizens.
PSC Chairman Omesh Satyanand had said that aside from torture Lall had been an outstanding policeman for two decades. He said also homed in on the fact that the duo had paid the price – been interdicted and receiving half month pay – until the outcome of the matter. The chairman made the point that a person ought not to be punished indefinitely.
Persaud, in his defence, said the duo was exonerated of the crime and “life must go on.”
McCormack pointed out that the only rank who suffered is the female police commander who was transferred. He pointed out that she had no direct involvement in the burning of the child’s genitals but her superiors were confident in transferring her. He agreed that in this situation the commander who had no direct hand in the incident was punished while the perpetrators got off.
According to him torture is a crime for which the statute of limitations is not applied. In this regard he said the first thing one should push for is the reinstitution of criminal charges against the duo. He rubbished the excuse that the case ended abruptly because the victim failed to turn up to testify.
“The fact that the boy as a witness was not available is not fatal to prosecution,” he said adding that this case should be treated similarly to those which involve very small children and mentally ill persons, who are incapable of testifying in court. He expressed confidence that in the absence of a witness, police will be more than able to prosecute the matter. He said that all that has to be proven is that the incident did occur.
He said that the police had enough scope available to them to build a case outside of the testimony of the main witness as there must have been persons at the stQtion who were aware of what happened or persons who the duo would have confided in. He said that far too often the reluctance of someone to be a witness is used as an excuse to end a matter.
“The fact that it happens renders you ineligible… to be a police officer,” he said adding that such a person does not have the mental and emotional make up that is required to execute policing duties.
“First of all they should be charged [again]. If they are not charged they should be dismissed,” he stated while adding that PSC’s wanting to re-establish an image of a body with integrity should be enough to dismiss these persons. He said if they can’t send them home then at least they can recommend that such be done.
He said that over the years confidence in the police force has been “steadily eroded” adding that there are periods when there are visible efforts to re-establish vigorous disciplinary action. “Incidents like this reinforce one’s lack of trust in the capacity of the force to do the right thing,” he stressed.
He said that while there are many good and honest officers, “unfortunately the bad apples always get more attention.” But he said it goes beyond good apples and bad apples because instructionally the police force is beyond internal reform as it needs restructuring to attract a better quality of ranks.
McCormack expressed doubt that Guyana would be able to get past this controversial issue without reform aided by external forces. “Otherwise we will go from one scandal to the next”, he stressed.
No accountability
“The ability to commit offences and the confidence that you will not be called to account is a very strong feature of the police culture,” he said adding that the two cops are the most grievous examples of how there is no accountability.
Using the cadet officer who allegedly shot a teenaged boy in his mouth as another example, he said that like in so many similar cases this the rank walking freely on the streets.
He said the force is riddled with examples of “no accountability” and it goes unchecked because the political system itself is not accountable.
He stressed that given that the GPF is a “civilian force” there needs to be a national oversight body which is a feature of many developing countries. He said that such a body comprises representative from a wide range of sectors.
McCormack said many may wonder “how could that happen” but he believes that it can because there is no civic oversight and accountability to anyone, except the Minister of Home Affairs.
According to the human rights activist in more democratic societies the police would be accountable through a range of actors including the media and the courts. He said regional commanders should have some sort of authority and be able to work with local committees to help boost relationships.
