The T&T Police Service says it is illegal to enter your vehicle when it is being towed and such action can result in a $10,000 fine or a two-year prison sentence upon conviction. In a media release yesterday, public information officer Supt Joanne Archie said the police were “concerned by the unacceptable practice.”
She added that once a car has been hooked up to the wrecker and the driver appears and claims the vehicle the police shall release the vehicle and ticket the driver for violating the traffic law. Archie was responding to a video of two police women dragging a woman out of her car which was being wrecked.
Asked why was the vehicle wrecked when the owner had clearly returned to it and therefore the car should have been released and the owner ticketed, Archie said the wrecker might have moved the car. She added that once the vehicle had been moved, no matter the distance from its parked position, the owner could no longer claim it and have it released.
She added that based on the video it was difficult to say whether the car had been moved or not but urged citizens not to continue the practice of entering their vehicles once it had been connected to the wrecker. She added that this was tantamount to obstructing police in the execution of their duty. “This practice can result in serious injury to persons,” she said.
Addressing concerns that officers were abusive when they dragged the woman out of her car, Archie, in her release said, “In addition, Section 4(1) of the Criminal Law Act 10:04 authorises a person to use such force as is reasonable, in the circumstances, in the prevention of crime, or in effecting or assisting in the lawful arrest of offenders or suspected offenders or of persons unlawfully at large.”
She added that if police abused their powers or used excessive force, then citizens were asked to lodge a report “and the matter would be thoroughly investigated”.
Businesswoman on bail for 2 charges
A 56-year-old businesswoman has been placed on bail after appearing in court on two criminal charges arising out of her alleged response to the wrecking of her vehicle on Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain, on Tuesday. Julia Persad, of Sangre Grande, pleaded not guilty to both charges when she appeared before Magistrate Carl Quamina in the Port-of-Spain Third Magistrates Court yesterday morning.
After the charges were read, Persad’s lawyer Nigel Floyd requested that Quamina endorse the temporary $500 bail bond granted by a Justice of the Peace which allowed her to be released from the Central Police Station on Tuesday evening. While court prosecutor Rawle Ramharack did not object to Persad’s bail, Quamina said the sum was insufficient to cover both charges. He then increased the bail bond to $5,000.
Persad, the owner of a store in downtown Port-of-Spain, became an Internet sensation after a short video clip of the incident was recorded by a curious onlooker, who later posted it on social media Web site Facebook. Persad is charged with obstructing WPC Joanne Brown in the execution of her duties and resisting arrest. Both charges carry a maximum fine of $10,000 and up to two years imprisonment.
Persad was told to reappear in court on February 17, when a date for her case will be set and prosecutors are expected to disclose the evidence against her to her lawyer.