By Keril Wright,
Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
CONSTABLE MAXINE Pindling charged with kidnapping and unlawful detention in connection with the July 1999 forced removal of street people from Montego Bay, was granted bail in the sum of $200,000 yesterday in the St, James Resident Magistrate's court.
She is scheduled to return to court next Tuesday, January 23. Pindling, 28 years old, was among five police officers who were named in connection with the Montego Bay street people scandal.
All five testified early last year at the Commission of Enquiry in which Inspector Ainsworth Gidden, who was squad leader at the time of the incident, was granted immunity from prosecution.
Executive members of the Jamaica Police Federation accompanied by scores of rank and file policemen and women converged on the St. James Resident Magistrate's Court in support of their colleague.
Following Constable Pindl-ing's appearance Federation Chairman Inspector Merrick Watson pledged their continued support, of what he called the victimisation of a fellow officer, and announced that the Feder-ation would be paying Pindl-ing's legal expenses.
"Whenever people are victims, there is a support unit to help them," he said as he addressed the gathering of officers from the Corporate Area and surrounding parishes. "You must be her victim support unit."
The Federation, he said, had secured the services of attorneys-at-law Ian Ramsay and Vernon Ricketts for Constable Pindling's defence team and would pursue the case against her to the highest court.
Apart from the support of fellow police officers members of the civil rights group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) and Dennis Meadows of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) also came out in support.
Elizabeth Hall of JFJ, who was on hand at the courthouse yesterday, told The Gleaner that she was amazed that the DPP had laid charges but were not ready to prosecute.
Resident Magistrate Paulette Williams is presiding over the case.
"We went out today as you know it's a matter that concerns us all expecting that the case would have started, however, the Director of Public Prosecu-tions (DPP) said they weren't ready. Now that is amazing," she said.
Mr. Watson said the Federation was concerned that the DPP had singled out the one female out of the many officers who were involved.
He also expressed surprise also that only police officers were being prosecuted when other agencies had been implicated in the scandal.
