By Desiree Kissoon
The Commander of Man-hattan’s New York Police Department’s (NYPD) 9th Precinct has Guyana on his mind even as he oversees approximately 140 officers in his unit.
Guyana-born Deputy Inspector Ralph Clement is proud of his Guyanese heritage. He told Stabroek News that he yearns for the day when he will be able to share his knowledge in law enforcement with Guyana.
Clement was recently highlighted in several mainstream media in New York as America celebrated Heritage Month. The reports channelled his journey from arriving in the United States via the backtrack at the age of 14, to becoming Deputy Inspector of the NYPD and Commander of the 9th Precinct.
Clement joined the NYPD in July 2005. He told Stabroek News that his goal was to make Captain and he studied hard and took all the necessary exams in pursuance of this goal. After attaining the rank of Captain, he was assigned for training at the Police Academy while he waited to be given his own command. He said that he continued to study all aspects of the job.
The NYPD Deputy Inspector, told this newspaper that he would like to give back to Guyana. He said that as he continued his education, he saw many things in a new way, and he would like to share with Guyana what he has learned. He noted that with less than a million people, Guyana should not have poor and uneducated people. He said most crimes come about as a result of poverty and a lack of education.
Clement said the areas of the Precinct he commands have a very high crime rate. “Gangs, drugs and gun, my officers are dealing with on a daily basis,” he said. “It’s these skillsets of being able identify and solve issues such as these, that I would like to share with law enforcement or any organization in Guyana, when I retire. It would not be about money, I would work for one dollar. I am eager to share what I have learned over the years working in New York City,” he said.
The 44-year-old said he plans to retire in 10 years and noted that July 12th was his 17th anniversary with the NYPD. Asked if he was willing to return to Guyana before his retirement to share his knowledge in law enforcement, Clement said he would consider any invitation as long as it don’t clash with his current duties.
Clement’s journey began at the age of 14 when he left Guyana for the US via the backtrack route. He arrived in Canada and was taken to Syracuse, and then to New York City. According to him, “I came as a dreamer, no papers, no green card.” He said he worked very hard to achieve his goals and credited his adopted grandfather Telbert Sylvester Clement who was a sergeant with Guyana Police Force, with birthing a love for law enforcement. He attended school in Guyana, and did well. He drew inspiration from his mother Pamela Clement and his dad Sheik Karrim. They lived in Eccles on the East Bank of Demerara in Guyana, and were hard-working parents. Sylvester Clement married the sister of Clement’s grandmother raising his mother as his own daughter. According to Clement, Sylvester Clement was more than a grandfather to him and gave him his surname.
In New York, Clement attended John Adams High School in Queens. In 1996, he left John Adams and started working as a contractor to Revlon boss John Farley. Clements revealed that Farley, a former officer in Navy, encouraged him to become a police officer. As Clement puts it, “You don’t see yourself sometimes, but someone else may see that you can do better. That thought has stuck with me and I believe the people have the capacity to do well, if they are given real encouragement.”
The NYPD’s Deputy Inspector is married to Stacy, has one daughter, two sons and four grandchildren. His eldest son David is also an NYPD officer.
