Police probing bribery allegation against senior Berbice cop

Jul 28, 2020 News

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– accused alleged visited home of complainant’s relatives, issued threats

An Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) is the latest police officer attached to the Guyana Police Force that has found himself on the wrong side of the law, accused of accepting a bribe. Regional Commander Calvin Brutus confirmed that a report was made by the complainant and a probe has been launched while the accused rank remains on duty.
The ASP who was the officer in charge of the No.2 sub-division in Region Six and previously stationed at the Whim Police Station, has since been removed from that post and is currently stationed at the Central Police Station, New Amsterdam, while the investigation is on-going.
The senior officer is accused of accepting a bribe of $100,000 to “sweep under the carpet” a matter involving a pregnant 14-year-old girl and an 18-year-old young man from Region 5.
The father of the underage girl, told this publication that his daughter visited a clinic after she informed them that she was pregnant. It was during her visit to the clinic that the nurses on duty raised questions about the circumstances of the girl’s pregnancy, following which the Child Protection Agency was contacted. The father disclosed that the agency contacted them on the 14th July and he was subsequently given a letter to visit the New Amsterdam Police Station to meet with a police officer, which he did the following the day.
“When I reached the police,” the man said, “the police sent me to Whim Police Station. Dem tek statements from me, my wife, daughter and the boy. They lock up the boy the said night and the next day I went and search for the [Officer-in-Charge] for advice.”
According to the man, when he got the chance to do so and explained his dilemma to the ASP, the officer told him that the boy will be charged with the offence of rape.
“So me ask he if he can do anything about it,” the man told this paper,” and he ask me if me get $100,000 so me explain to him that me na get $100,000 but me can get the money so me come home and borrow $50,000 from me neighbour and however me mek up the rest and give he. He tek the money and tell me that everything will be ok and that the matter will drop, and he give me his number.”
Three days later, the man said that the grandparents of the 18-year-old boy contacted him and told him that they were told to visit the station to provide statements and at that point he became confused as to what was taking place since he felt as though he had already paid the officer a huge amount of money to deal with the matter.
“When me call he pon the phone, he answer and tell me let me na mek he get vex and cut off the phone on me,” the man said. This further frustrated him and he then decided to report to the Divisional Commander that the officer took the money from him with a promise that the matter would be settled.
“Me report that he tek the money from me and that he fool me and he na do it. Me never go to the station for nothing and me go for really ask he for advice and he tell what me can do, me sickly with me heart and me and me wife does work in people garden so me na bin want me daughter got to mind the baby alone so he gimme he number and he tell me if me get any problem let me call”, he said.
Threats
That report was made last Friday. On Sunday, the man revealed, a young man showed up at his house around 15:00 hrs and identified himself as a relative of the senior officer. The young man reportedly told the father of the teen girl “go to the station and tell dem that me mek a false allegation against the officer and that he gon give me back the money” but he refused to do such.
Later that night the senior rank himself along with the same young man showed up at the home of the complainant’s mother and brother and asked them to “collect the money and me brother tell he no that he na know what kind of business transaction me and he get and he na collect no money. He use threatening words to me brother that if he got to lose he job for $100,000 he na know what deh behind me”. A report of that incident was also made at the Central Police Station yesterday. The mother of the pregnant teenage girl expressed fear that the senior officer may want to harm her family since he showed up at her in-law’s house.
Kaieteur News understands that this is not the first controversy linked to the officer in question. There were allegations that the ASP and a Corporal were accused of operating a strip club at Diamond. It was alleged that the corporal had assaulted a taxi driver and the ASP detained the taxi driver after he threatened to “spill the beans” about him running the illegal strip club. The ASP was charged and transferred to Berbice after that incident where he continued to perform regular duties while the investigation was on-going. The charges were subsequently withdrawn by the DPP in 2018.

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