The Police Force is once again facing harsh public criticism in light of allegations of a gay bashing at the hands of police officers.
According to a well placed source, on Sunday morning after a fete in the Frigate Bay Area, a male and a female friend were leaving the area when the female exchanged words with an on-duty officer about his behavior handling a previous incident.
The male reportedly told her to forget about it as “every dog has its day”.
It was reported that the officer proceeded to call the male a punk repeatedly, which triggered a verbal response from the individual, and an escalation of the officer’s homophobic expletives.
According to the source there were three law enforcement officers present at the time. The male was slammed against his vehicle and roughed up before being taken to a police vehicle with the threat of arrest for using a curse word.
Information received is that the officer driving stopped near TDC home and Building depot and punched the male in the chest and abdomen while berating him about being gay. Fearing for his life, the male being attacked allegedly did not fight back, just tried to protect his face and body from the blows. The source indicated that the officer was deliberate not to hit the male in the face, but allegedly threatened to break the male’s ribs and worse. It was not clear if any of the other two officers engaged in the beating.
The individual was taken to the Basseterre police station but was subsequently released without charge after relaying what had happened to a Corporal on duty. When he tried to make a formal complaint later that day the alleged victim encountered some difficulty. Freedom FM understands the individual intends to file an official complaint with the relevant authorities and has sought legal advice on the matter.
A call to Acting Commissioner of Police Hilroy Brandy Monday morning for comment on the alleged incident went unanswered.