In America, black people have taken to recording all encounters with police officers, despite that the latter are required by law to wear body cameras on duty. Following the highly controversial deaths of Trayvon Martin, Laquan McDonald and Walter Scott, among many other young, black men, personal recordings seem more important than ever to the black community.
On Monday, the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force announced that officer Rayian Clerice had been charged for cutlass whipping a handcuffed man in police custody. A video that featured two other cops in uniform was captured and soon after went viral. Andre Haynes, aka Yardie, on Monday recalled during a TV appearance that he had been shot in controversial circumstances eleven years ago by the officer now charged with beating a handcuffed prisoner. According to the news report, his matter is still pending before the courts.
While lauding the speedy police action in the more recent assault, Haynes cited other incidents involving the offending officer that should have resulted in his dismissal from the force. Was the viral video responsible for the difference? The police press office would say only that they had taken statements in relation to the recent assault.
It is no secret that the majority of Saint Lucians do not see the protectors of our lives and property in a good light. Several reports attest to that. Police officers are seldom given the benefit of the doubt. And now they can never tell whether there may be a video to counter their “self defence” claims in matters of police brutality.
In 2017, BuzzFeed News, referencing American police officers, reported: “The increasing prevalence of camera footage eroded that bedrock of the justice system, wiping out powers long held by law enforcement. Within the last half decade, a new reality has set in for cops, lawyers, and judges: Videos have replaced police reports and testimony as the most credible version of events, proving time and again, with increasing frequency, that police officers lie.”
Additionally: “This new criminal justice landscape was born from the intersection of two historical trends. First came the technological advancement that suddenly multiplied the number of cameras out in the world. As cameras became smaller and cheaper, more business owners could install them on their buildings, more city governments could stick them on light poles, more police departments could clip them to their uniforms, and more people could easily access them on their mobile phones.”
We in Saint Lucia are not quite there yet. The video starring the cutlass-wielding cop is the first of its kind. Two earlier videos seemed to portray the police acting by the book even as a mob appeared to be preventing them from performing their lawful duty in Ciceron and in Dennery.
Meanwhile the RSLPF says investigations into the May 22 shooting death of 17-year-old Arnold Joseph by the police are ongoing. They say, too, that a gun was recovered from the crime scene but they have so far refused to disclose from where. The driver of the vehicle in which the teenager was travelling when he was fatally shot, has been charged with several traffic violations. A third passenger has not been charged. Asked why there have been no gun-related charges, the police say these could come later.
Had someone recorded the police chase that ended with the young student’s death, might someone have been held responsible by now? Had someone recorded the shootings in Vieux Fort and elsewhere at the time of Operation Restore Confidence, would we be in the related
mess we now find ourselves?
The President of the Police Welfare Association, Travis Chicot, offered some advice last week: “We think having body cams will give us an unbiased representation of circumstances as they unfold. We believe that having the body cams will do two things for the state: cause perpetrators to behave in accordance with the law; secondly, they will keep the police in check. We also understand that having the body cams will be a plus, not only for the police force, but also for the citizen and the security of the country.”
In January, referencing graphic images of crime scenes circulating on social media, an authorized police officer said: “Videos of crime in progress can help, but videos of crime scenes only make it more difficult for police investigators. It would be wonderful if pictures were submitted only to the police. More often than not, that’s not the case.”
