Police welfare group condemns misconduct but not worried about outcry

By Emmanuel Joseph

The Barbados Police Association (BPA) which represents the welfare of the Barbados Police Service’s more than 1 100 constables and sergeants is not worried about the public
outcry over claims of misconduct by some officers, it said Monday.

However, BPA President Mervyn Grace was adamant that the association will not back any form of unethical behaviour by its membership, which comprises officers below the rank of inspector.

“At this time, we are not concerned about the recent allegations about the conduct of some of our members. We are satisfied that the administration deals appropriately with all allegations,” Grace told Barbados TODAY on Monday.

“We however wish to express that we do not, and will not support any form of misconduct from our members who are all trained professionals.”

Grace was commenting on two recent complaints against police officers recorded on video or audio in incidents of alleged misconduct.

The police association leader also declared its support for the introduction of body cameras on officers.

“The BPA is in full support of the use of the bodycams by our members,” he said. “We encourage our members to make full use of them as the short videos on social media don’t give a full picture of how incidences unfolded.”

“They only show what the person recording wants to show. The decision of The Barbados Police Service to increase the number of bodycams is fully supported.”

Two weeks ago, Barbados TODAY published two different articles on consecutive days of alleged unprofessional police behaviour.

On the first occasion, an apparent suspect in police custody claimed physical and verbal abuse from a female police officer and said he would take legal action after viral video and audio recordings that captured part of the fracas became the focus of an internal investigation of professional misconduct.

The lawyer for the man, who was being held by a policeman during the verbal confrontation in which the officer appeared to admit to kicking and punching him and threatened more violence, said then that her client had sought treatment for his injuries and had “instructed that we take legal action against a female officer who was involved in this incident”.

In the other event, 32-year-old artisan Daron Kirton claimed an unlawful and arbitrary search of his Tangerine Street, St Philip home and the seizure of certain items on December 28, 2023. He complained that his home was broken into, and hidden cameras showed two armed police officers walking around inside while he was away at work.

Since then, Kirton, who has secured the services of lawyer Meshach Thornhill, served the Office of the Attorney General and Commissioner of Police with pre-action legal letters giving the AG four weeks to agree to an out-of-court settlement, “inclusive of compensation”.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb