Man beaten by Police during arrest demands justice

…as OPR launches probe

A 32-year-old father of two is calling for justice after he was badly beaten by Police Officers, who he claims wrongfully arrested him for stealing fish.

Quincy Letlow was Thursday morning allegedly assaulted by Police Officers at the Meadow Bank Wharf.
Letlow, who has been working there for some four years, was accused of stealing of fish worth $6,000.
The incident, which was captured on camera, has since gone viral on social media. In the video, Letlow was heard asking the cops to allow him to inform his brother, who was at the wharf before they took him to the station, but instead, he was tackled to the ground by a uniformed cop.
Another Police Officer, who donned casual wear, used handcuffs to beat the man to his face while he was still pinned to the ground.
Later in the video, the man had gripped onto the edge of the Police vehicle and the rank who had assaulted him used the handcuffs once again to hit his knuckles repeatedly.
Eventually, the rank ventured to the Police vehicle and retrieved his gun which he pointed to the man’s face.
During the ordeal, Letlow’s pants came off and the Police eventually pushed him into the Police vehicle and took him to the Police station.
“Me ain’t resist arrest,” Letlow told Guyana Times during an interview on Friday. He is appalled that the ranks treated him with such brute force.
Letlow told this newspaper that he was further beaten whilst in the Police vehicle.
“The Police who did beat me (name given) put a gun to me mouth and say ‘alyuh does play yual is bad boy’,” Letlow said, noting that the officer threatened to kill him.
He was released from Police custody on Thursday night around 22:00h.
The man claims he is innocent.
“Me ain’t went no where around deh (where the snapper got stolen),” he expressed.
In fact, he claimed that when the Police arrested him, there was clearly no fish in his possession and that the person who accused him of stealing admitted that he has no evidence to support his allegation.
In fact, he said the vendor had decided not to proceed with the matter after his brother volunteered to repay the $6,000.
Currently, Letlow says he is in tremendous pain from the beatings he received and as such, is unable to return to work. He says his chest is paining and he is spitting and urinating blood. In a brief statement on Friday, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) said a thorough investigation into the incident has been launched by the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).
The man hopes that at the end of the investigation, he and his family get justice.
“I want justice. I deh in pain, I can’t work, my girl belly big (pregnant) and she gah look me now,” he stated.
Letlow is the father of children aged nine and 10; his wife is currently pregnant.