The St Elizabeth police have confirmed that an armed policeman, who last month told a citizen that “Mi wi mash up yuh [expletive] eno” for video-recording him, is the subject of an internal probe.
But Superintendent Kenneth Chin, who leads the parish, said there is “nothing” so far to indicate that the constable should be removed from frontline duty.
Chin declined to give any further details, citing a twofold investigation – the one by his division and the other by the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), the State’s oversight body for the security forces.
Given the possibility of a criminal charge, he said, INDECOM’s probe has to be wrapped up first before the internal enquiry can be completed.
This is the first public utterance from any senior official of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) since The Sunday Gleaner brought the issue public on April 2.
The incident happened on March 27 at the Black River Primary and Infant School, in full view of students who were heading home.
School bus operator and businessman Boris Brown was in a stand-off with another motorist whose vehicle he alleged prevented him from safely exiting the school’s gate with his Toyota Coaster on to Central Road. Children were on-board the bus.
Brown, 48, said he stopped a police team travelling in a service vehicle licensed K048 and asked the four cops aboard for their intervention.
One of the cops, he said, told him that the path was clear enough for him to drive out but he insisted that it was not safe and did not move the vehicle.
A discussion took place, during which his vehicle documents were requested and at which time he said he decided to start a video recording.
Footage of about six seconds from Brown’s cell phone shows a policeman telling Brown not to record him.
“Mek sure yuh nuh [inaudible] … mi wi mash up yuh [expletive] eno,” said the armed cop as he advanced on Brown who was heard saying “a weh yuh a duh? Threaten me?”
An apparent tussle ensued and the video ended.
Brown is alleging that the cop “attacked me, grab me by mi neck” and “threatened me”.
Superintendent Chin affirmed the rights of citizens to record.
“The general position is that the members of the public may record anything in the public space,” he said in an interview with this newspaper on April 12.
The Sunday Gleaner then asked him whether the policeman’s instruction was contrary to the general position.
“I cannot comment on that specific incident,” replied Chin.
Several questions about the incident that were submitted to the JCF on March 31 remain unanswered.
Brown, who retired from the United States Navy in 2014, and said he is pursuing a master’s degree in law, shared that he is still seeking legal advice on whether he will sue the State.
A timeline for the completion of INDECOM’s probe is not clear. The oversight body has collected statements from Brown and efforts are underway to get statements from the police team involved in the incident.
Some of these situations could be avoided if cops recognise that “a police officer has no expectation that he enjoys any privacy” when “carrying out his public function in the public”, said attorney Chukwuemeka Cameron.
“Recording police officers carrying out their duties in the public space, even with a view to sharing that recording, could be deemed as a form of exercising of the right to freedom of expression, and this issue has been determined by the courts prior to now,” he said earlier this month.
An exception, Cameron said, may be in instances where the police can demonstrate that the recording is “obstructing or interfering” with their duties.
In 2014, the JCF’s High Command said it is within the rights of every member of the public to record the activities of any member of the force carrying out duties in the public space.
“It should also be noted that this type of activity is encouraged by the Police High Command, as it oftentimes helps in allegations of police misconduct,” said the constabulary after a St Ann resident complained that he was arrested by the police for taking their photographs.
The government’s policy is also for members of the security forces to wear body cameras, but implementation has not been smooth.