police accused of “dragging foot” on assault of pregnant woman

Jan 09, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – Ranks at the East Ruimveldt Police Outpost are being accused of ‘dragging their foot’ on an assault of a pregnant woman which occurred on September 5, 2021.
The victim, Tracy Andrews, 40, of Lot 9 West Ruimveldt was allegedly assaulted by two men, who live next door to her, over some illegal live electrical cable that they had run through her yard.
Andrews has since given birth to her baby prematurely and the men who had allegedly assaulted her are yet to be charged.

Tracy Andrews, the woman that was assaulted by police while pregnant.

Kaieteur News, however, was able to confirm that the men had been arrested for the offence but were released on station bail pending further investigation.
Shedding some light on what transpired on September 5, 2021, Andrews recalled that she and her mother were angry at the neighbours for running live electrical wires through her yard. “We were concerned about the safety of our children and we had been telling them to remove it but they never did,” Andrews told Kaieteur News.
As a result, she approached her neighbour’s home that day and demanded that it be removed at once. A female occupant of the home reportedly became angry with Andrews and they started to curse each other.
It soon turned into a scuffle between the two women and it was at this point that the two men came out of the house and allegedly started to beat Andrews.
Andrews identified them as the woman’s son and husband. She claimed that assault ended after one of her relatives alerted the police. Everyone, including Andrews, was arrested that same day. She was later taken to the hospital and, according to a medical seen by this newspaper, she suffered abrasion to her body and an injury to her back.
An ultra sound was also conducted on her to see if any harm was caused to her unborn child and it was reportedly advised that they keep her under observation.
Her baby was eventually born prematurely but as it relates to the assault matter, police had only dealt with the scuffle she and the woman had over the illegal electrical wires in her yard.
They were both charged and placed before the court but the two men Andrews claimed had beaten her, were placed on station bail and are yet to be charged. Speaking with this newspaper on Friday, Andrews said that she wants justice because her assailants would taunt her and this would fill her with rage every day.
According to the woman she would often molest the investigating officer at the East Ruimveldt police outpost for a follow up on the investigation but would get no positive answer.
“First he used to say that they are not finding any witness of the assault and then he started saying that them (the alleged assailants) already get put before the court but when we go and find out there, the court would say that these persons never get charged here for no offence,” the woman said.
Frustrated that ranks at the outpost might be dragging their feet on the case, the woman recently visited the Police’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) to file a complaint.
They reportedly took her report but to date, the woman said, she has not received any feedback. With the suspects’ continuous taunts, Andrews said that she decided to make the matter public via the media.