Glenroy Sinclair, Staff ReporterAS THE police continue their probe into the alleged beating of a woman by members of the Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF), Acting Police Commissioner Jevene Bent, yesterday gave instructions for Commandant William Malabver to be removed from front-line duties.
"The term removing from frontline duties does not mean that there has been disciplinary action. Commander Malabver will be still on the job, but in office," Osmond Bromfield, Commandant of the ISCF, told The Gleaner yesterday.
He said the other police personnel who took part in the operation in Half-Way Tree on Wednesday afternoon are still on front line duty, except for a woman constable whom he said was assaulted and injured by the other woman during the
confrontation.
FULL REPORT REQUESTED
On Thursday, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller requested a full report of the incident from the acting commissioner. Allegations are that members of the ISCF, led by Commandant Malabver, beat Margaret Ferguson Berry, a resident of Arnett Gardens.
The officers were in the process of apprehending her husband, Leroy Berry, for operating an illegal taxi. It is further claimed that the woman intervened and barred the police from ticketing her husband.
To date statements have been collected from Mr. and Mrs. Berry, while other persons of interest are being interviewed by a team from the Professional Standards Branch, led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Novelette Grant.
Yesterday, lobby group, the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights (IJCHR) said police officers should be model citizens, demonstrating appropriate respect for all people, including those suspected of running illegal taxis. The police officers' abuse of power in this incident is shameful.
Following the completion of the PSB investigation, the file will be submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions for a ruling.
