Cop caught using excessive force at Wales Police Station will be dealt with ‘condignly’ – Watts
Police Commander, Errol Watts, has emphasised that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) does not tolerate the excessive use of force and has promised to deal “condignly” with a policeman who was caught on video dragging a man into a cell at the Wales Police station on the West Bank of Demerara (WBD), Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara).
When contacted by the News Room on Sunday for a comment on the video, Commander Watts said that incident occurred at around 23:00 hrs on Friday night. According to the Police Commander, he was informed that the man in the video drove a car into a canal at Wales on Friday night. Police officers who were patrolling the Wales district found the man covered in mud. The officers questioned the man, who later revealed that he was the driver of the car in the canal.
As such, Watts explained that the officers took the man and the vehicle to the Wales police station, where the driver was subjected to a breathalyzer test. It is alleged that the man refused to do this test and became abusive and resistant to the officers.
“… I was told that the police attempted to place him in the lockup but there was an issue there,” Commander Watts explained.
The video, which has since gone viral, showed that the man was being arrested by an officer but appeared to resist. Subsequently, another officer chained both of his legs and yanked that chain forward, resulting in the man falling to the ground.
The cop then dragged the man into the cell and locked the door, even though the family of the man can be heard telling the officers that he hit his head on the ground.
Commenting on the video, the Police Commander said the police officer “allegedly” pulled the man into the cell, explaining that the circumstances surrounding the incident are not fully ventilated.
He, however, related that the man was released since the night of his arrest.
Importantly, the Police Commander highlighted, “We don’t tolerate excess use of force in the Guyana Police Force, whoever does something like that will be dealt with condignly.”
He also noted that by Wednesday, later this week, he would be submitting a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack for advice. He also said that an official police statement on the incident would be released shortly.
