Commissioner of Police Leslie James yesterday said the ranks implicated in the alleged brutalisation of four teenage boys at the Charity Police Station last week are still on duty while an internal investigation is underway.
James, who said he directed an investigation to be launched after receiving a report about the allegations, added that a decision will be taken on the ranks once it becomes necessary.
“…They are still on the job… at some point some action will be taken, but they are still on the job. They are still currently where they were. They have not been removed but a decision will be taken once that is necessary,” he told reporters yesterday following an event held at the Officers’ Training Centre in Georgetown.
On Saturday, Commander of ‘G’ Division Khali Pareshram had told Stabroek News that the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) was investigating claims that ranks at the Charity Police Station brutally beat four teenagers.
This newspaper understands that the teenagers, whose ages range from 13 to 15, claim they were brutalised on separate occasions at the station. It is being claimed by one of the boys that he was choked with an electrical cord.
The teens have given no indication that they had committed any wrongdoing which would have led to them being taken into police custody and transported to the police station.
However, additional information received by this newspaper has revealed that the teens, who are all school drops-outs, were detained after they were found liming on the streets during late hours.
A video of one of the teenagers displaying injuries he suffered has been circulated on Facebook. In the video, seen by this newspaper, the teen alleged that police covered his head with a bag and beat him. This resulted in him sustaining severe injuries to his ear.