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FRIDAY,
JULY 25, 2014
VOLUME 108, No.30
www.thevincentian.com
EC$1.50 Police locked down Paul’s Avenue as they conducted searches for gun, ammunition and drugs.
Left: Plead as much as she could, this woman was not allowed to proceed any further into Paul’s Avenue during the police search.
Stories by KENVILLE HORNE POLICE ON TUESDAY continued their stepped up operation aimed at uncovering illegal guns, ammunition and drugs, in certain areas of capital Kingstown. On the day in question, four police vehicles converged on Paul’s Avenue, dispatching a large
contingent of heavily armed police officers, members of the Rapid Response Unit (RRU), commonly referred to as Black Squad, and the Special Services Unit (SSU), who proceeded to conduct searches of private and commercial properties. A staff member of the Financial Intelligence Unit was also noticed to be a part of the contingent.
Tuesday’s search was a continuation of an operation that has seen similar exercises in Rose Place, Cemetery Hill and Kingstown Park. Paul’s Avenue was literally locked down for upwards of three hours, beginning just about 11: 00 am. Vehicular and pedestrian traffic waereat a minimum, and
several businesses complained about their patronage being severely affected. When contacted, Frankie Joseph, Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of crime, said the operations in the Kingstown area were as a result of information received by the police, but he could not comment on whether or not the objectives were achieved. “We are still carrying out our investigations”, Joseph said. Joseph admitted that the homicide rate had exceeded that for the corresponding period last year. He acknowledged that citizens were concerned, and promised that a heavy police presence around the country would form part of the constabulary’s response. “It is a fact that persons are getting concern, we are aware of that. That heavy police presence you saw, it is part of the response,” said the senior officer, adding, “We really want to assure the public that the police are doing all in their power to make them feel safe.” Continued on Page 3.
Elderly woman stripped, searched by police ‘IT’S AN OUTRAGE!” That’s how one resident of Paul’s Avenue reacted to news that Beryl Sam, a 78-year-old woman of Paul’s Avenue, was strip-searched during a police operation in that community, last Tuesday, July 22. Four pick-up loads of members of the Rapid Response Unit and the Special Services Unit converged on the community in an operation that was said to be one in search of guns, ammunition and illegal drugs. Access into and out of the community was impeded for well over three hours, during which Senior citizen Beryl Sam is trying to come to grips with her recent experience at the hands of local law enforcement officers.
time a number of houses were searched, including Beryl Sam’s house, but nothing illegal was recovered by the police. According to Shanique Sam, one of Beryl Sam’s granddaughters, who didn’t want her picture to be taken, police arrived at their house and said that they had a warrant to search the premises for drugs and ammunition. The warrant was secured on the suspicion that Beryl’s grandson might have hidden the items at his grandmother’s residence. Shanique further stated that the police wanted to show the warrant to her grandmother, but she told them her grandmother would have difficulty reading it, and suggested that she read the warrant, but the police objected, and proceeded to search. It was not until the grandson
concerned arrived at the scene that the authenticity of the warrant was confirmed. “They search up all over,” Shanique told THE VINCENTIAN. “They search all over, the kitchen, the yard, and the bedrooms.” The search turned up nothing illegal. It was following the search that Shanique and her grandmother were made to strip by a female officer. “They told me to strip, squat, and cough,” explained Shanique, adding that her grandmother was asked to strip and squat. Shanique admitted that she resisted at first, but complied after she was told she would be taken to the police station and be forced to strip. Continued on Page 4.