Bullies must be dealt with swiftly, condignly

Dear Editor,
There is circulating on social media an incident involving a speeding minibus driver who physically assaulted a Police officer when he tried to issue him a ticket. The entire incident was captured on camera, something the offending bus driver cannot deny.
Now, there are a few things I would like to bring to your attention, that is, the admission of guilt by the driver, who when he was stopped did so willingly. The problem immediately became apparent when the law officer was about to write up the particulars for the illegal act committed, at that stage the driver became irate and belligerent. Some of the onlookers egging him on to violently attack the officer. This is what we would say in Creole “wrong and strong.”
From what has been going on our roads, it is clear that this driver wanted the Policeman or simply put, it was expected of the driver that the officer take a bribe and allow him to go free. Well, this was not the case and that minibus driver went ballistic. There were also loud shouts of, “Officer you wrong, give back d man e licence,” all symptomatic of the culture of lawlessness that presently exists.
Now, in my book, punishment for the errant driver must be meted out swiftly and condignly, a hefty fine for assaulting the peace officer for doing his work, while at the same time the imposition of a six-month suspension of his vehicular licence privileges. This would send a clear message to all drivers of vehicles that this foolishness would not be tolerated. Decency and responsible driving must be adhered to at all times, failing which, persons would either be suspended or removed permanently from our roads.
It also brings into focus the need for our Police men and women to be fully equipped with tasers to deal with such foolish people on our roads. One could only imagine what would have taken place if it was the female officer who was attacked and could not defend herself, or if this incident took place at night when there was no one there to film the details of the assault. We must furnish our officers with the necessary equipment to deal with such offenders. Not only do we see such ignorant (Caribbean meaning) behaviour manifesting itself, but I am also talking about our lawmen being adequately protected when making common arrests.
I call on the Minister to so equip our Forces with the necessary hardware when dealing with those who believe that they can commit a crime and bully their way through.

Respectfully,
Neil Adams