Twelve police officers will appear in court next week to answer several criminal charges arising out of an incident in which a suspect was doused with hot water during an interrogation session at the Sangre Grande Police Station in February.
When the 11 policemen and one woman police constable (WPC) appear in the Sangre Grande Magistrate Court on Tuesday morning, they will join a long list of police taken before court this year to answer criminal charges related to their on-duty exploits.
The police officers have been in custody since they were arrested by detectives of the Professional Standards Bureau early last week.
Police sources said investigators wrapped up their investigation on Thursday evening when the victim, Ralph Andre Lewis, participated in the last of a series of individual identification exercises carried out.
Unlike the other identification parades, where Lewis allegedly fingered the officers from batches of decoys while standing behind a one-way mirror, Thursday’s procedure reportedly took place at a bar in Sangre Grande.
Under the lawful procedure, which is refered to as a “confrontation,” Lewis was taken to the bar and asked to identify the officer under investigation, who was disguised as a patron at the bar. This is usually employed in cases where the victim knew the suspect before the incident occurred.
After it was completed, the officers, who were being detained at various police stations acrosss north Trinidad, were transfered from the Sangre Grande Police Station—their former base and the venue of Lewis’ alleged attack.
Yesterday, investigators began processing paperwork required to facilitate their colleagues’ court appearance.
The dozen officers, an acting inspector, a sergeant, an SRP sergeant, three acting corporals and six police constables (including the WPC), are facing charges which include assault occasioning actual bodily harm, beating by assault, misbehaviour in public office and perverting the course of justice.
Each officer is to face varying quantities of charges depending on their role in the alleged attack.
The charges reportedly do not include bribery offences related to Lewis’ claim that he was offered money to forego reporting the incident to police, as the alleged communication was done through third parties.
The officers will spend the rest of the long Easter weekend in custody, as they were not allowed to access station bail, which is sometimes offered to people charged with lesser criminal offences as well as high profile accused.
“Even the ones who did not interfere with the man (Lewis) and just get one charge for failing to report the thing have to stay inside. They are being treated as common criminals,” a source close to one of the accused officers said in a brief interview yesterday.
Lewis, 22, of Coronation Road, Sangre Grande, who first appeared on the CrimeWatch programme with host Ian Alleyne on CNC3, claimed that on February 24 he went to the Sangre Grande Police Station after he learned he was wanted in connection with house breaking and larceny.
Lewis was detained overnight and was interrogated the following day. Lewis claims that after he repeatedly refused to confess to the crimes he was accused of committing, he was stripped naked, with one of the five officers questioning him heating water in a microwave before pouring it on his lower extremities.
He sustained burns to the genital area and his buttocks and was hospitalised at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope for close to a week.
He has indicated his intention to sue the State for compensation for the injuries he sustained.
Rough time for service
The first three months of this year have been tough period for the T&T Police Service’s image, with several officers being charged with criminal offences against civilians.
Most of the offences have been violent or sexual in nature, but several of the accused officers were also charged with taking bribes, with the exception of the most senior officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Peter Reyes, who is accused of civil aviation crimes.
The following is a list of the police who were charged this year and a synopsis of the crimes they are accused of committing-
January 5: Special Reserve Police (SRP) Tamika Phillip and Ronaldo Rajcoomar appeared in court for assaulting wheelchair-bound homeless man Robby Ramcharitar along High Street, San Fernando. They were charged after a short video clip of Rajcoomar repeatedly slapping Ramcharitar was circulated on social media websites.
January 10: Sgt Dane Sorzano, a police court prosecutor, appeared in court for raping a teenager from Fyzabad on three occasions between 2010 and December, last year. He was already facing a separate charge for raping another woman in 2011.
January 30: ACP Peter Reyes appeared charged with three offences under the Civil Aviation Act for endangering the lives of passengers and crew members on a Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) aircraft by refusing to switch off his cellphone. The incident took place at the Piarco International Airport on a domestic flight to Tobago, where Reyes was due to start duties as head of the Tobago Division.
March 13: PCs Adrian Jack and Omari Gonsales were slapped with 12 criminal offences, including bribery and grievous sexual assault. Charges arose out of an incident on February 25, in which they allegedly solicited several bribes from a woman who they arrested for marijuana possession.
March 17: SRP Atiba Thomas, of Diego Martin, charged with 22 offences for having sex with a minor and for grievous sexual assault. Thomas is alleged to have attacked the 12-year-old girl 11 times between 2012 and last year.
Three more police officers could join this list by the end of next week, as investigators work to complete a investigation into the assault of a San Juan man last month. The victim, Garrison Augustus, was allegedly abducted by the officers from his Hunt Street home and taken to a desolate area where he was beaten. He claimed it stemmed from a dispute with one of the policemen over his ex-wife. Despite being identified by Augustus two weeks ago, the suspected officers are yet to detained and charged by investigators. Police sources said the investigation will be concluded early next week.