A Canadian citizen is alleging that she was viciously assaulted by City Constabulary women officers during which time she was stripped of her pants and undergarments and sustained injuries.
Suzanna Nichols on Thursday alleged that the incident occurred on July 2, when she visited the Mayor & City Council to take her son, a Canadian politician, to meet Mayor Hamilton Green.
Contacted yesterday, Public Relations Officer of the council Royston King told Stabroek News that the matter is under investigation and Chief Constable Andrew Foo is expected to submit a report to the Mayor on Monday.
Nichols recounted the incident to media workers during the break at the Parliament session on Thursday at which point Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence, while not addressing the specific incident stated that violence is demonstrated at all levels and with all genders. She pointed out that women are also embroiled in violent acts against women and that such acts “are being perpetrated by women in positions of authority.” This last reference could have been in reference to the incident recalled by Nichols
“The Ministry of Social Protection condemns these acts and will not condone such outrageous, heinous behaviour. The ministry is resolved to take measures to eliminate such acts of violence in the workplace and whenever they occur,” the minister said at the time.
According to Nichols when she arrived at City Hall she was greeted by what she described as a “very hostile female security guard” who was directing visitors to the office.
The woman, who said she is in Guyana on the invitation of Minister Lawrence to develop a national social empowerment programme for girls and women, added that the constable initially did not want her to park which she was eventually allowed but she left later to get some water and upon her return she was denied parking. Nichols said she ran up to the Mayor’s office and he directed her to use his parking spot.
“When I exited the car in the parking lot, I was aggressively attacked by four women of the Constabulary, who said that I was under arrest. They then proceeded to aggressively assault me, by punching me in the face, kicking me about the body and dragging me half naked across the parking lot of their holding area,” the woman said.
The woman said she was stripped of her pants and undergarments and she ended up in the hospital that evening with two perforated discs, a hairline-fractured hip and bruises and lacerations on her body.
Meanwhile, according to a source at City Hall, the constable had been instructed by a senior officer to arrest Nichols because she behaved in aggressive manner when she was stopped by the constable. According to the source, the woman verbally attacked the young constable who was also physically attacked when she attempted to arrest her.
“She was firing kicks, and cuffs and saying you all S and F,” the source said adding that three other constables had gone to assist their colleague.
The source said Nichols was wearing short pants, which came down in the process. She was taken to the Constabulary Office where she apparently fainted and was rushed to the hospital.
