Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jul 26, 2012 Letters
Dear Editor,
I must extend my condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the unfortunate incident that occurred in Linden during a demonstration to highlight their disapproval in the proposed increase in electricity rates.
Many persons are examining it politically, but it’s not my intention to view it from that perspective. I intend to view the demonstration from a security perspective and to establish if all security standing procedures were followed during the day in question.
My first question is if the organizers of the demonstration applied to the Commissioner of Police to hold a demonstration, and if so, were they granted permission. If they did apply and permission was granted and the necessary conditions were given, then the demonstrators had a legal right to be there. Furthermore, if no act of violence was committed during the demonstration or policemen’s lives were not in danger, then in my opinion, the police used more force than is necessary.
The police high command should have been aware of the demonstration and should have put certain measures in place to handle any disturbance, in the event that the demonstrators had decided to change their tactics. Therefore, I assume that the police had proactive measures in place to prevent any violence which might occur.
What really happened on that fatal day? Were the police at the demonstration’s lives in danger? Did the police have reasonable grounds to suspect that a crime was about to be committed. Did anyone discharge a weapon? Were the demonstrators asked to disperse? These are the questions that need to be answered before blame is to be placed on either the demonstrators or the police.
If what I am reading in the press is correct, then we have a very serious problem on our hands. It is reported that the demonstrators were asked to move and they refused. Yes, the demonstrators were wrong if they refused to obey a lawful direction by police in uniform. From experience with large gatherings, it is not wise to make arrests, what should have been done is to seek out the most vocal person in the crowd and speak with him or her to assist in getting the demonstrators to comply with the lawful direction of the police.
In my opinion, failing to comply with the lawful direction of the police still did not justify the police firing their guns on the demonstrators. It is my view that the police were not fully prepared for the task at hand and the information coming from headquarters was slow in forthcoming and the persons who gave the instructions to shoot panicked.
This incident shows very clearly that the police lack the necessary training in crowd control and it also appears to me that they had no proactive measures in place to deal with the situation. I would like to believe that the officers were given specific instructions before they went on duty in terms of what to do in the event that the demonstration became violent.
It’s regrettable that lives were lost, and I do hope that lessons were learnt by the police and that in future demonstrations, proper planning as well as intelligence-gathering is more intensely pursued, in order that such a event will never occur again.
Morris Springer
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Apr 19, 2024
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