…slams practise of Police stopping motorists to seek bribes
…as lawyer issues apology, tells his side of the story
Calling out the Guyana Police Force (GPF) for some of its members’ habits of stopping motorists and soliciting bribes, a Senior Counsel (SC) and former Speaker of the National Assembly has joined the Ryan Crawford debate.
In his weekly column, Senior Counsel Ralph Ramkarran revealed that he too has been stopped on multiple occasions. He complained about the practise commonly known as a shakedown; when Police randomly stop vehicles and then solicits bribes from the hapless drivers to make the ‘matter’ go away.
“A Police stop is often accompanied by the inevitable request for a raise. Despite the criticism of this type of Police activity, nothing has ever been done by the authorities to restrain it,” he wrote. “At one time drivers were stopped after they crossed on the green at traffic lights and accused of crossing on the red.”
“They paid up in panic there or after the Police entered the vehicle and told them to drive to the Police station. Driving to the Police station is frightening. It involves hours of sitting on a bench. When eventually you are dealt with, a hefty dose of bail is imposed. If you don’t have the sum, you have to communicate with a family member to secure bail.”
Ramkarran observed that these persons may then be invited to attend court, where they are told that no case has been filed. This, he noted, can come after the victim wasted a day at the court.
“On several occasions in the past, the Police authorities have announced that Policemen have no right to request a vehicle owner to go to the Police station for a minor offence. This, of course, (is sometimes not) observed by traffic Policemen who continue to hold on to drivers’ licences and demand that the drivers go to the station.”
“I have been the victim of most of these forms of harassment and so have family members and friends who have called me for assistance and advice. So have most of the thousands of drivers on the road. A traffic Policeman’s position is seen as a lucrative one.”
Apology
Meanwhile, Attorney Ryan Crawford himself issued an apology on his social media page. In the apology, he expresses regret for using expletives during the stop but added that he would continue to oppose Police who overstep their authority.
“On September 13, I was singled out from a line of vehicles travelling about 25km by a Police Officer who was standing on the opposite side of the carriageway along the vicinity of the Mahaicony Public Road. After complying with the officer to stop, I was ordered to the side of the road where I waited. At all times, my two front (windows) were down.”
Crawford recounted that after a lengthy wait without being given an explanation for the stop, he became frustrated at being detained. He noted that that frustration led to the expletives while making his point to the officer that it was an illegal stop. Crawford also alluded to things being said prior to the filming.
