Following a traumatic encounter with a would-be mugger during a morning stroll on Wednesday, the Co-founder and Coordinator of conservation group, Seawalls and Beyond, Dwayne Hackett, is encouraging persons to be careful when at the Kingston\Kitty Seawall.
“I was kind of scared to go back there by the bandstand area. I was contemplating how I getting back, do I need to call a taxi or something,” were the words of Hackett, as he talked about an encounter he had with a man while exercising at the Kingston\Kitty Seawall. He first shared his experience on his Facebook page where he encouraged persons to “please be extra careful especially along this stretch of roadway.” Hackett said that he was following a path where a number of persons also conduct their regular exercise routine at the seawall when the man approached him and threatened him before riding off.
“This morning I decided to get some walking exercise and chose to do so on the seawall between Vlissengen Road and Kingston at just around 5:30 am,” Hackett related in his post. He said that just after he had been walking in a westerly direction for about 10 minutes, he noticed a man on a bicycle approaching him. Hackett said that as the man passed, he asked whether Hackett was “good” and Hackett responded by saying he was. Hackett said that the man rode around one more time. This time Hackett said the man asked for a thousand dollars, but he told the man he had no money on him. The man continued riding past before he circled back, this time closer to Hackett and proceeded to threaten him. The man said “Don’t mek I got to jook yuh up before you reach deh.”
Hackett recounted that he has had two previous robbery encounters and both times the perpetrators were armed with guns. He said that since these incidents, he has become more cautious and now has more knowledge about what to do in such situations, “I learned to try to concentrate on the people who you’re around. See their faces,” he said. Reminiscing about a previous encounter, Hackett remembered that during the incident he had kept his head down the entire time and that made it hard for him to describe the person, but on Wednesday, he instead looked the man in the face so the man would know that he had an idea of what he looked like and would be able to recognise him. According to Hackett, the man was wearing a dark coloured bandana around his neck. He said that it was tied as if it was being used as a mask. He said the man also had a hat.
Hackett added that after threatening him, the man then reached for his waist, as if to pull out a weapon. It was at this point he realised that the situation had escalated. He repeated to the man that he did not have money but at the same time realised that his phone was exposed. Hackett told Stabroek News that he decided to have his phone with him because he wanted to listen to some music and that the earphones were exposed. He suspects that the man noticed the earphones and was actually hoping to snatch the phone, but used the demand for money as a distraction. He also thought about throwing the phone into the water if the man had attacked him. However, the man proceeded to ride away.
“I kept looking back as he rode away. I don’t know if he attacked anyone else along the way,” Hackett said before adding that he was told that someone else was robbed moments after his encounter. After making his post, persons contacted him to share their experience while exercising at the seawall during those hours. A colleague of the person who was robbed contacted him and he has since spoken to the victim and they have indicated that a report hasn’t been made to the police.
Hackett thinks the man rode off because the sun had already started to rise by this time and there were persons about 100 yards ahead and behind him. “Maybe it was their presence that helped to keep him from attacking me. I alerted them of the encounter as we reached up. The man behind me wanted to know what the bicycle man was telling me.” Both persons met up with him at Camp Street and he told them what had happened after they inquired about the encounter. According to Hackett the police had been patrolling in the area just moments before he was approached by the man. He also said that the police would often pass there during the morning hours as it is not unusual for suspicious persons to be in the area.
Hackett said the encounter left him fearful and he was nervous to walk back. He even considered calling a taxi but had no money on him. As he was considering what to do, he saw two persons, who looked “strong” and were headed in the direction he wanted to go, so he decided to walk behind them.
Hackett mentioned that cameras were installed at the roundabout by Vlissengen Road and at Camp Street, therefore the man should have been caught on the footage and the police would be able identify him. However, he understands the person who was robbed is now traumatized and did not make a report to the police. He was told that the other person was robbed of his money and his phone and that a knife was used to carry out the robbery. Also, from the description of the perpetrator, he believes it is the same person who accosted him.
Hackett said he did not make a report of his encounter to the police.
