Hicken upbraids cops for “embarrassing” GPF over recent brawl

…as Home Affairs Minister laments “disrespect” of uniform ranks

Commissioner of Police Clifton Hicken has called on police officers, especially traffic ranks, to follow established operational procedures when they are out in the field.
His charge comes on the heels of two ranks caught on video in a fight with two civilians – an incident which the Top Cop said could have been avoided.
Addressing senior ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) at the opening of the Inspectors’ and Sergeants’ Conference 2025 on Wednesday morning, Commissioner Hicken underscored the importance of balancing enforcement with compassion.
According to the Top Cop, officers need to follow the established protocols in place.
“Risk assessment is your policy. When you get out there, it cannot be two on two – it cannot be. It has to be four or six police to two people. And that is why we have the SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) with the Operation Room.”
“When you go out there, you do a threat assessment and you call to the Operational Room. Don’t wait until you start fighting and things get out of hand, and then you begging [for] help. You are embarrassing the force when you do that,” Hicken posited.
The Police Commissioner told the senior ranks that issues like this should be “iron[ed] out” during the two-day conference.
In the video of the incident, which occurred on Camp Street in Georgetown on Monday, one of the men could be seen recording the interaction with one of the officers, who then knocked the cellphone out of the man’s hand resulting in the scuffle.
Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn, said that members of the public have the right to record the police and vice versa.
“I keep telling the police… [and] everyone, the public has a right to video and record police behaviour. They have that right. You can’t tell people they can’t video you… If they come into my office and they want to videotape me, they’re free to do so. And I can do that back to them too. We must not prevent people from taking our video, our pictures or the engagement,” Benn posited.

Disrespect
However, while admitting that the officer was wrong to knock away the cellphone, the Home of Affairs Minister lamented the constant disrespect of police officers. He noted that officers are now being equipped with body cameras to ensure transparency and accountability of their actions, as well as that of members of the public.
Minister Benn believes that this is not enough, especially when it comes to the frequency of disrespect of law enforcement officers.
“I don’t want policemen and women being beaten on the road. We’ve said to the Police Chief that the police on the beat, they must have pepper spray, they must have batons and they must have tasers. If we go to other jurisdictions, that is what a policeman on the beat has… So, we gotta work at [getting] this quickly.”
“I don’t want police men being disrespected. Those who are providing the protection for peace and development can’t be beaten on the road, and we can’t continue to have the disrespect which we’re seeing. We don’t want to go out there and beat people [but] we must be protected… They must think twice or thrice before they attempt to strike a policeman. It should not happen. It’s a complete breakdown of law and order if policemen can be beaten on the road,” the Home Affairs Minister stressed.
Meanwhile, brothers – Stephen Embrack, 30, and Antwon Embrack, 23, of Meadow Brook, Georgetown, were on Wednesday charged over the violent altercation with the cops and placed on a total of $170,000 bail when they appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court before Magistrate Faith McGusty.
In a previous statement on the issue, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) distanced itself from the officers’ actions, while also warning against attacks on law enforcement officers.
The police force acknowledged that the conduct of its ranks was under review but emphasized that members of the public should not assault officers in the execution of their duties.
The GPF further stated that the footage from the incident would be used to assess and improve training within the Traffic Department.