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Police Search Journalist' S Home - Trinidad, Tobago / Caribbean - Posted: 17th Mar, 2009 - 12:50am
Posts: 1 - Views: 555
Officers refused to show warrant and refused to read it
Police Search Journalist's Home
If this is true, it is scary that the police in this country can act this way!
QUOTE It's around 7.20 Tuesday night. At my house it's as domestic a scene as one can imagine.
My wife, a nurse, is getting ready for work; my daughter is watching TV. I'm stepping out of the bathroom, preparing to relax and assume baby-sitting duties. Suddenly, a movement on my gallery catches my eye through the corridor. It's a pack of policemen heading my way.
Dressed only in my underwear I run outside to be greeted with machine guns and the surreal sound of a policeman informing me that they are here to search for arms and ammunition. Half-naked man facing naked power.
Of course, me being me, there's loud protest. I order them out and demand to see a warrant.
But when one of the officers runs around the gallery, raises his hand and looks about to hit me, reality bites- this is no time for back-chat or battle. Into this scene of confusion runs a uniformed officer dressed in khaki, an Assistant Superintendent of Police he tells me.
We walk back inside the house, Mr ASP pulls out a piece of paper, declares it to be a warrant, refuses to show it to me and refuses to read it.
The piece of paper is instead handed to another policeman. When I ask this officer to read it to me ,Mr ASP grabs the paper saying: "I don't have to read nothing to you. Get on with this search."
Still intent on holding on to what's left of my dignity, I ask Mr ASP whether he thinks I'm intimidated by khaki, to which he replies: "Tonight I will make a newsman make the news."
It seems that there's no suspicion here. The ring of certainty is in Mr ASP's voice when he declares that he knows that I have guns to sell and that he will find them and "carry me down".
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The search lasted for about 20 minutes. I will be the first to admit that the officers going through my personal belongings and those of my family, were professional and courteous. As much as they could, they tried to accommodate me. Perhaps, privately, they understood that it was foolishness that had led them to my house.
In response I tried to be accommodating. When the electricity went, I lent them two torchlights to continue their search.
Similar stories that I've covered over the years would suggest that I was lucky. Policemen do not always respect property-or people for that matter. Still, as he left empty-handed, Mr ASP could not resist a few digs at "all you media people", mumbling about them being "irresponsible". Wiser counsel suggested I keep to myself the thought that next time he should take those complaints to the editor instead of to my house...
My wife, a nurse, is getting ready for work; my daughter is watching TV. I'm stepping out of the bathroom, preparing to relax and assume baby-sitting duties. Suddenly, a movement on my gallery catches my eye through the corridor. It's a pack of policemen heading my way.
Dressed only in my underwear I run outside to be greeted with machine guns and the surreal sound of a policeman informing me that they are here to search for arms and ammunition. Half-naked man facing naked power.
Of course, me being me, there's loud protest. I order them out and demand to see a warrant.
But when one of the officers runs around the gallery, raises his hand and looks about to hit me, reality bites- this is no time for back-chat or battle. Into this scene of confusion runs a uniformed officer dressed in khaki, an Assistant Superintendent of Police he tells me.
We walk back inside the house, Mr ASP pulls out a piece of paper, declares it to be a warrant, refuses to show it to me and refuses to read it.
The piece of paper is instead handed to another policeman. When I ask this officer to read it to me ,Mr ASP grabs the paper saying: "I don't have to read nothing to you. Get on with this search."
Still intent on holding on to what's left of my dignity, I ask Mr ASP whether he thinks I'm intimidated by khaki, to which he replies: "Tonight I will make a newsman make the news."
It seems that there's no suspicion here. The ring of certainty is in Mr ASP's voice when he declares that he knows that I have guns to sell and that he will find them and "carry me down".
-----------------------------------------------
The search lasted for about 20 minutes. I will be the first to admit that the officers going through my personal belongings and those of my family, were professional and courteous. As much as they could, they tried to accommodate me. Perhaps, privately, they understood that it was foolishness that had led them to my house.
In response I tried to be accommodating. When the electricity went, I lent them two torchlights to continue their search.
Similar stories that I've covered over the years would suggest that I was lucky. Policemen do not always respect property-or people for that matter. Still, as he left empty-handed, Mr ASP could not resist a few digs at "all you media people", mumbling about them being "irresponsible". Wiser counsel suggested I keep to myself the thought that next time he should take those complaints to the editor instead of to my house...
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