The police stopped
him, slapped him, detained him and kicked him, a man from Port Launay alleges.
He adds that the Commissioner of police has given him the assurance that his
allegations will be looked into but that he decided to speak out “so that
people know it could happen to them”.
“I am speaking out because the public must know that some
police officers still beat people up”. Douglas Marie, a resident of Port Launay
claims he was beaten up by the police late on Saturday night. He alleges that
he was detained overnight at the central police station and was later released
without being charged with any offence.
The twist in Mr
Marie’s story is the fact that he met with the Commissioner of Police, Ernest
Quatre, yesterday morning to complain about the treatment he claims he received
from some members of the force. “I was very glad that the Commissioner of
police saw me, listened to my story, and invited me to go and give a statement
to the police. He also asked me to have my glasses repaired and to bring the
receipt so I could be reimbursed since the police officers broke my glasses
when they slapped me”, he recounts.
But Douglas Marie
insists that the fact that the response of the police was overly positive on
Monday will not stop him from speaking out. “People need to know what is
happening”, he says, adding that he also went to the State House to complain of
his alleged ill-treatment.
Mr Marie says he was
initially stopped while he was driving in the Belvedere area. “There were about
20 police officers on the road and they stopped me. One of them used a torch to
blind me and I said he should not do that. He asked me to get out of the car
and I did and then I volunteered the information that I had had a beer but
insisted that I was driving responsibly. He then slapped me twice and broke my
glasses in the process”, Douglas Marie told this newspaper.
The man who is a cook
by trade avers that he was then taken to the police station in Mont Fleuri
where he gave a statement admitting to the fact that he had consumed alcohol.
“I then asked for permission to call someone to come and drive me home or
alternatively to get me a taxi to get home”, Mr Marie continues. But according
to him, the police then took him to the central police station where he was put
in a cell with seven other people.
“When I asked to call my lawyer, they came in and started
kicking me to the extent that the other detainees had to tell the officers to
stop”. Mr Marie further claims that he was transferred to another cell – and,
he continues, “there’s a camera there to prove what I say” - where he was
beaten further.
Douglas Marie affirms
that he was only allowed to leave the next morning. “I was in pain and asked a
police officer to help me up and he said it wasn’t his job. A Nepalese police
officer then decided to help me up and he put me in a jeep and dropped me
home”, Douglas Marie further says.
The Port Launay
inhabitant says he met up with Police Commissioner yesterday morning and was
pleasantly surprised by the courtesy that was extended to him and the
reassurance that they will look into the matter.
Police spokesperson
Marie-Neige Philoe confirmed to this newspaper that the Police Commissioner did
indeed receive Douglas Marie yesterday morning pertaining to his complaints but
adds that she could not confirm the Port Launay resident’s version of events as
the police enquiry has only just been opened.
“Next time the police stop me on the road, I will be scared
to stop”, Douglas Marie concluded.
Source:Today
