Barbados Police Thugs Again Assault Working Journalists
Freedom Of The Press In Deep Trouble In Barbados
Yet again more working journalists have been man-handled and arrested by Barbados police thugs. The crime this time was reporting on a police officer who is charged with dealing drugs. (Nation News stories here, here and here)
Commissioner Dottin has once again promised to have some sort of investigation or inquiry into the incident – the same as he always promises whenever the police shoot an unarmed citizen in the back of the head or beat up working reporters. Of course, there never is any investigation or explanation by Dottin or the Royal Barbados Police Force because the police are above the law in Barbados. They answer to no one, not even to the politicians and certainly not to concerned citizens or the victims of police abuse. Dottin always says he will “Look into it” whenever an unarmed civilian is shot or a reporter is roughed up – but then nothing happens and the years go by.
There is no civilian oversight of police officers in Barbados. There is no working complaints board and no independent agency to investigate police wrongdoing. If citizens want to charge a police officer with an offense, that presents another whole layer of impossible. Our Director of Public Prosecutions is part of the problem as he hires corrupt police officers to collect personal debts owed to him.
Why Should We Believe Commissioner Dottin? He Has Lied To Us Many Times!
Last year there were two major incidents where police roughed up reporters and destroyed their notes, photos and videos. (BFP stories here and here)
Dottin said he’d “look into it.”
Sure. Almost 19 months have gone by and Dottin is still “looking into it” just like he’s looking into the case of 17 year old Kim Joseph – a woman who was “accidentally” shot in the head by police nine years ago. Just like he’s looking into the case of Stephan Griffith – an unarmed man who was shot in the back of the head by police in January 2007 while riding his bicycle. Just like he’s looking into the case of Glenroy Brathwaite who was most likely beaten to death by officers while in police custody in December 2006.
Are we detecting a pattern here?
We know that Barbados police are paid a fraction of what is paid to professional police officers in many other Caribbean nations. We know that they are poorly trained because of lack of funding, and understrength because of a shortage of qualified recruits. The last government’s solution to the problem was not to pay the police a living wage, but to lower the hiring standards!
All that is true, but in the end the police must be professionals and adhere to the rule of law whether they believe they are being paid enough or not.
And that makes it is a top-down leadership problem with the responsibility falling upon Commissioner Dottin – who has failed miserably to make the police into a professional law enforcement organisation where officers adhere to the rule of law and believe themselves to be guardians of a sacred trust to protect society.
Commissioner Dottin has shown time and time again that he is incapable of controlling his officers, let alone making the Royal Barbados Police Force into a professional law enforcement organisation that we can all be proud of.
Dottin should resign or be sacked.
May 2007 Police Rough Up & Arrest Barbados Reporters - Charges Later Disappear
July 31, 2007: Barbados Reporters Again Assaulted By Police Thugs – But Is The Nation News Reaping What Is Sowed?
June 8, 2007: Barbados Journalists Were Roughed Up OUTSIDE The Hospital!
May 27, 2007: Barbados Reporters Visit Queen Elizabeth Hospital – Arrive In Zimbabwe Courtesy Of Royal Barbados Police Force
Barbados Free Press 
It is time that Bajans follow the North American lead and use the cameras in their cell phones.
The Police will be more accountable when citizens become “video journalists”.
I don’t know exactly what transpired but the Police and the press should resolve their differences within the “Laws of Barbados”.
Life can be easy when you do what is right and reasonable.
i don’t know about this case but for me the media believes it is their God given right to intrude on any incedent they see. I went to a sudden death at a friend’s house. Here is an elderly lady, whose hushand was there talking to her and had a massive heartattack and died.This lady was hysterical and when I arrived a reporter was in her face trying to get a story. I push that girl so far and she said she was going to sue me. Come on, why was she in the ladies house? Is she a police officer? as far as I was concerned she was trespassing and I ordered off the premises. When the police arrived, I asked the officer to get off which she reluctantly do. I know these people has a job to do but too often they go way overboard. I can tell of many run-ins I have had with the media.
I think BOTH the media and the police are getting too far overboard!
I think HUMANS IN GENERAL are getting too overboard!
They’re just giving hermits like me a REAL BAD TIME!!!!!
LOL…don’t mind me hear? I is a joker yeah… 😉
While we do not know what transpired between the police officers and the photographers, I only have this to say…
When the accused is “john public” the police officers see nothing wrong in letting the photographers get all up in the accused face to get pictures…case in point, the three who stole the money from the central bank, the three who stole from NIS.
What makes this case so special? One of the accused is a police officer. Why should his face not be plastered like any other member of the public?
Fair is fair.
I agree with you lady anon…you hit the nail on the head…police in Barbados are out of control and are very crooked…i heard on the radio how they had this guy in jeeps trying to hide him…how stupid…i bet the same way they pushed the photographers…they pushed that rasta guy off the cliff and the same way they are hiding this pissy cop held with a kilo of dope…they are hiding headley and watts…
@ Lady Anon
When the accused is “john public” the police officers see nothing wrong in letting the photographers get all up in the accused face to get pictures…case in point, the three who stole the money from the central bank, the three who stole from NIS.
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Not so fast I don’t think that the Central Bank case has been adjudicated so you are jumping the gun when you said “stole the money”.
As for this run in between the Police and the Press, you are correct that the newspapers are full of photos of people who have only been charged with a crime, so what makes this case different? It must be because the accused is a Policeman, maybe the recent photo in the Nation of the Policeman who was accused of shaking down video store owners got the force in a lather . However the Commissioner has called for a “full investigation”.of the matter I am sure that the public will be apprised of the results of this “investigation” just as they have been informed of the results of the other investigations, after all the Commissioner is a man of his word………
I just keep looking at that officer twisting up Cherie Pitt’s arm and wonder what she could have done to deserve THAT. Total unnecessary force!
It’s a matter of discretion, and using some commonsense – Good Lord; take a hard look at Jimmy and Cherie? Who are they going to cat-spraddle & maul-sprig? A cockroach? Sure they might try to run but if you put a hand on them I am sure they will quiet for fear of damaging their equipment/livelihood, ie: cameras…
Hello? Your spam-guard manhandle my comment 😉
Agreed…allegedly stole from NIS and Central Bank. All the same, any case that has not been adjudicated the individuals are “alleged” but their faces are still plastered.
The police charged one of their own and then set about protecting the one they charge from having his picture taken. That is foolishness. Even if he is innocent until proven guilty he has embarrassed the entire force and put more thoughts in the public minds that a lot of police officers are corrupt. Too many police officers are overly aggressive with law abiding citizens especially when they are reporting tem for minor road traffic violations. They can disrespect you but if you reply then you are charge for insulting a police officer .I support them In their fight against crime and maintaining law and order but some really make the public resent them.
Pot and Kettle both black
AAAAAAAAAAAAAghhhhhhhhhh
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Scout on BU you said tha tit was your goddaughter in an accident, here on BFP you said that it was an elderly hysterical lady.
Which is the truth?
And why was the elderly lady hysterical? She expected her husband to live forever?
Old people die.
It is natural and normal for elders to die.
Nothing to get hysterical about. And yes scout I have buried both my elderly parents. I was very close to both. But there is nothing to get hysterical about when an elder dies.
J
If you are the same J on BU, then you’re not only an idiot, you’re stupid and heartless. If you can read, I said, I have many incedences, I could have reported on. I mentioned one on BU and one on BFP. YOU got a problem with that? Idiot. Fool. I could have reported many many more and many other persons could do the same as me. You’re also heartless, whether the person is young or old, any person who is talking to a love one who is quite healthy and jovial at the time and just slumped forward dead, anyother person other than you would have been hysterical. I hope you never witness such but then you’re moroon. Merry Christmas JOKER. Sickhead. Heartless. Idiot. Fool.
The media would want the police commissioner to resign so that they can do whatever they like. The drug men want the same man to resign so that they can do whatever they like. The illegal immigrants want the chief immigration officer to resign so that they can do whatever they like. Many people want the P.M to resign so that they can do whatever they like and the list goes on. Facts are none of these are perfect but they are ALL doing an honourable job and we in Barbados don’t realise or accept how fortunate we are. Stop griping and live within the law and even if you think you’re right comflict resolution is the answer. Do what you’re told and make you complaint later but I’ve always heard, “it takes two to tango.” Have a good night and a trouble free Christmas.
Don’t make me laugh. The “journalists” got what they deserve.
They are foaming at the mouth now? What happen to them was very mild compared with what happens to ordinary citizens in police custody everyday, and which all the local media refuse to highlight. Citizens have been murdered in Police custody and they have refused to investigate.
Serves them right. I hope the police arrest a few more of them in the morning.
Anon a comment like that should have YOU foaming at the mouth this morning
I know Cherie personally and i have no doubt that she was doing her job…i stand under correction but i think the girl being shoved and walking away is Sandy not Cherie…it is Cherie for sure in polic custody…neway I would like to think that our system works and everyman is innocent until proven guilty but having witnessed at least 2 cases of misuse of force by the BFP and BDF/Coastguard I have no doubt that Sargeant was abusing his authority. I kno MLK said keep the peace but some of these officers need a good dose of their own medicine and they are going to mess with the wrong person one day and God forbid the outcome.One day coming soon. They give good officers a bad name all because they feel like lil pissy boys…I hope they get justice! Cherie girl i got yuh back!
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listen hey so…..daz bare tripe…..i believe dat if it did ole lousy me d police wudda done gi da d charge sheet, d statement n a perfect mug shot o me…hear wha i tell wanna…..but bcuz is one o dem….dem getting up scrawl up so….nonsense….dem reportas in question tresspass…..how cum d co-accused Wade O’Brien face pun page 3A of d Sunday Sun but d idiot police got he face juck in a wall like he is a termite……ppl plz….n e body cud dun kno who Const. Troy Brathwaite is…BIM is only 166 square miles..i drive roun it in a day….he shudn’t b hiding……n he bring shame ta d force at dat dem shudda dun let cbc, nation, advocate, cmc, cnn, fox, nbc and all d odda channels c d disgraceful idiot……….freedom o press ain really so na mo……i watching fa d outcome o dis….. n still wondering who will police d police…….
Cherrie Pitt is SEXY NO RASS!!! Loveley ASS and full legs does anyone has her number? Forgive me as a single heterosexual man I’m allowed some indescritions.
Dear Sad to Say:
Please go quick, quick and take a very, very cold shower.
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J: I took your advise and the cold shower has not helped. I must conclude that the cops who man-handled (to be politically correct – womanhandled) this fine specimen of a lady must be some bullers. No red-blooded hetrosexual man will ever treat such a lady in the manner reported.
BFP: If Cherrie Pitt sends you her telephone number please give me a wink and we will have to work out a way of getting it to me.
No red-blooded hetrosexual man will ever treat such a lady in the manner reported.
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Hello we are talking about the ignorant power mad bullies of the RBP here beating up women is normal behaviour for them.
Ras Bash Says:
how cum d co-accused Wade O’Brien face pun page 3A of d Sunday Sun but d idiot police got he face juck in a wall like he is a termite……
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ahahahaahaahhahaha. you and sad to say have some interesting views
BFP: How much work would be involved to put below a poster’s commet the ability to click “agree” “disagree” or “offensive”. I think it would add an interesting dimension to the blog……just a thought.
PiedPiper that is one excellent idea.
Short answer… I don’t know.
Cliverton is our blog master. Clive? What say?
wow, and i thought the Jamaican police were bad!
Permit me to make a small observation re the charges laid against the Policeman:
When I was growing up in the sixties/seventies the only drug was the “ Demon rum” and as I approached adolescence Marijuana or Indian Hemp as it was then called was beginning to appear on the horizon. I well remember some persons being dragged before the courts for possession of said substance and being fined the princely sum of $960.00
Flash forward to today and we hear about crack cocaine and other addictive drugs and the appearance on the streets of local drug addicts otherwise known as “paros”. Has anyone ever investigated the origin of these drugs? Where is the pipeline? We do read the occasional story of Coast Guard encounters with small speed boats which are said to be smuggling drugs into the island but as far as I know there has never been any charges laid in Barbados in connection with the manufacture of drugs. Since Barbados does not share a border with any country is it conceivable that the drugs which arrive on our shores arrive via our major connection with the outside world i.e on aircraft or ships?
I thought of this today as I read a story in the Toronto Star which details the seizure of a shipment of cocaine in a freighter from Guyana. The drugs were intercepted in a shipment of Hot Sauce and Seasoning bound for the Caribbean market in Canada.
I wonder if the authorities are so caught up in chasing the smugglers on these “cigarette boats” that they have missed the forest for the trees since many of the drugs may arrive right under their noses via the mechanism of everyday commerce.
But that’s just my two cents
http://www.thestar.com/GTA/Crime/article/558006
Commissioner Dottin should certainly be dismissed, not only for the failure on his part to nurture and maintain a professional service which does what it says on the vehicles, but more particularly for his general inadequacy – he is a pencil-pusher, not a proper policeman, and has been nothing but an embarrassment to the many dedicated professionals who ARE in the RBPF, whose images are stained by incidents like this. It would be charitable to describe it as an utter failure of leadership. The man has proven over and over that he is useless – how much proof do the successive AGs need?
And we still don’t believe something fishy happened to Iakobi Maloney
And we still don’t believe something fishy happened to Iakobi Maloney
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Everyone thinks that there was foul play on the part of the police that lead to the death of this young man. Even if they are innocent in this matter ( which is highly debatable) their reputation and track record are against them.
Added to the fact that they will lie through the teeth to cover each other in whatever circumstances its hardly likely than any one believes a word they say
When it all falls apart the politicians will blame Police Commissioner Dottin, but he himself earns less than a New York street cop.
Both parties were wrong, but if you were told not to do such by an officer, and you refuse to hear what he or she says well yes, pay the consequences. They should have been jailed or should have paid a fine. I am as a citizen must adhere to laws of Barbados but once you are a journalist, you are tell me all does not apply to you? What are you trying to tell my son or other children that would have seen this plaster in the front page of the nation. You want to be heroes well, go to Afghanistan and be on the front line, reporting what is happening to our young people who would have joined the US, Canadian or British army and how they are coping out there and just maybe you will get an award for being a Brave Soilder. But for right now, all this is telling me is that when anything happens, the journalist as all the say and no one is to stop them PERIOD.
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