By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
A VIRAL video showing a bloodied man in handcuffs crying for help as a police officer knelt on his chest sparked outrage from social media users yesterday.
The clip had been shared more than 2000 times on Facebook and sparked hundreds of comments since it was uploaded yesterday morning.
When contacted, Deputy Commissioner of Police Emerick Seymour, officer in charge of disciplinary matters, said he hadn’t seen the video and requested that The Tribune email it to him.
An alleged eyewitness, who spoke to The Tribune anonymously, said she was still angered by what she said took place on Prince Charles Drive shortly before 8am on Monday.
At one point in the video, the arrested man complained about not being able to breathe.
The officer whose foot pressed against his chest responded: “Say something, say something.”
When the man said “all my hand and thing bleeding real talk,” the officer replied “shut up, shut up.”
At one point the suspect, who appeared to have blood coming out his mouth, directed his plea for help to another officer on scene, screaming: “Bro, I need help man. My hand bleeding, my vein bleeding, they punch my teeth out my (expletive) mouth. I need help bro.”
However, the officer on top of him responded: “Yeah your (expletive) neck gon’ be bleeding soon.”
It’s not known what the man was arrested for. According to the eyewitness, the suspect was resisting arrest––but only after police threw the first punch.
“He wasn’t aggressive at first though he may have said something they didn’t like,” she said. “They were punching him up, kicking him up. Blood came out his nose and mouth and he screamed ‘help me’ and they told him to shut up.
“It was three of them against him one,” she continued. “They were punching and kicking that boy and didn’t care that people were driving on the road watching. A lot of people from what I could tell started taking out their phones to record it.”
One Facebook user said of the incident: “Da man done handcuff…why treat him like dat???”
Another said: “This video is disturbing!!!! Something needs to be done man, it has to stop!!!”
“And ya wonder why ns does turn gun on dem,” another user wrote.
One user, purportedly a woman said: “They done have him handcuffed, why does he have his foot on him? Lord knows this is heartbreaking and I don’t even know him so imagine how his family feels.”
At least three videos went viral earlier this year involving officers in separate incidents.
Police have not provided an update on the status of those investigations to date. Regarding the Prince Charles incident, Mr Seymour said last night: “I’ve directed that an investigation be conducted into this matter to determine what actually happened in this video.”
Comments
Sickened 6 years, 1 month ago
People don't judge what you see on a video clip until you know what happened leading up to it or who the 'victim' is. There are countless scenarios that could warrant this sort of action by police. In my experience, police don't just randomly pull someone out of a car and beat them without a reason.
BahamasForBahamians 6 years, 1 month ago
Once a suspect is detained - there is nothing that warrants this sort of action..
Perhaps if he was in the process of arresting him then there should be a discussion. it is evident that the young man is already restrained by cuffs.. you are dead ass wrong on this.. this is an obvious crime being committed. Assault to begin with.
The police in this video should be haunted and the PM should give orders to kill him on sight in the same way he did for Carlis Blatchs killers.
If he doesn't surely the law is not balanced for both us and them alike? How is it one crime gets the prime ministers attention but this obvious crime - on camera does not?
ThisIsOurs 6 years, 1 month ago
Wrong, there is NO situation that warrants this behaviour from the police. There are countless situations where they may "feel" like beating someone up, but NOTHING gives them the right to. Nothing. Murder, rape, theft, back talking, nothing. That is why family members and police officers don't sit on the bench. Your acceptance of this violent response in broad daylight is very disturbing. If they are willing to do this in sight of everyone what are they doing when no one is watching? There is no room for acceptance of this, especially in a country where we know innocent people are simply rounded up and thrown in jail for 72 hours for no reason other than being poor, black and unemployed. For all you know that man may have simply objected to how they were treating his property.
Sickened 6 years, 1 month ago
You 2 are both wrong and you know it. If this guy had just killed raped two people and led the police on a chase while shooting at them, you don't think that they should treat the perp with hostility? Many people do similar things and then once the police finally get them handcuffed start screaming for mercy... "why you have your knee on the back of my head", "I ain't gonna try run no more". The police may have had in custody 10 minutes before and was gentle with him and then he took off, stole a car, and they just caught him again.
Lots could have happened before this where this man deserved to be man-handled and subdued with extreme prejudice!
BahamasForBahamians 6 years, 1 month ago
You have provided 0 provisions in the law that allows for this type behavior.
This is definitely assault on a restrained detainee and should carry a stiffer penalty than general assault or battery charges.
Whether a suspect killed the entire country or rape a school full of children, the law only makes provision for an arrest and a day in court.
There is no prejudice on how a suspect can be treated based on allegation.
Sickened 6 years, 1 month ago
You both need to live in reality. A person shouldn't be able to do whatever he wants and then give up just before he's captured and not expect to be beaten to a pulp. That's why we have people robbing a house and killing the husband then thinking, Oh, I might as well rape the wife children because the courts will run my sentence concurrently so basically, I'll only be charged with murder... everything else I do (and may also get away with) is just gravy. Our system needs harsher punishments and the police in my mind are the first in line to hand out punishments. I am no cop and was only gently harassed by them growing up here when I did stupidness. But the thought of them beating my ass (like they did some of my friends) kept me from doing really stupid shit.
ThisIsOurs 6 years, 1 month ago
Clearly you didn't read what I wrote.
"There are countless situations where they may "feel" like beating someone up, but NOTHING gives them the right to. Nothing. Murder, rape, theft, back talking, nothing. "
God forbid he had hurt someone I loved I'd probably want them to hurt him, but that is NOT their job and that is why relatives don't ride in police cars to help capture the criminal. Because God forbid he WAS someone I loved.
John 6 years, 1 month ago
And the part of the video where the handcuffed young man was complaining to the police that his hand was bleeding. The officer's response was, "you ger soon be bleeding out ya neck." They had already knocked his teeth out. Remember there were over 20 police involved shootings that resulted in death since Marvin Dames and the new commissioner took office. anyone who saw the video saw the young man was subdued and not resisting..just asking the officer, who had his knee in the boy's neck to 'ease up' off him because he was bleeding. No one could watch this video without becoming emotional., especially after the young man told the officers he was on his way to work, before they knocked his tooth out. Police assault on young men is one of the greatest events that fuel crime and anti-social behavior in this country, especially when the young men are innocent and have never been exposed to that type of behavior before. Violence begets violence. The former commissioner did not tolerate it.and attempted to weed out officers (some who were secretly gang members) who indulged in it.
sangeej 6 years, 1 month ago
have any one of you ever had to arrest anyone? some go quietly, but other will try to break you up and act as the victim if they are unsuccessful.
BahamasForBahamians 6 years, 1 month ago
That part of it seems to be totally irrelevant as this guy is already cuffed.
ThisIsOurs 6 years, 1 month ago
An officer has a right to "defend" themselves, they do not have the right to gang a suspect
ThisIsOurs 6 years, 1 month ago
If you're a police officer you have a fundamental misunderstanding of the justice system. Your role is to prevent crime and to apprehend criminals. It's the court not you who hands out justice. What they did to that young man could happen to you or me if one officer wake up on the wrong side of the bed or had a fight with his wife that morning. This is not ok.
Sickened 6 years, 1 month ago
And if the court is not handing out justice? I'd prefer the cops to hand it out than we the people taking care of it.
BahamasForBahamians 6 years, 1 month ago
The police in this video should be haunted and the PM should give orders to kill him on sight in the same way he did for Carlis Blatchs killers.
If he doesn't surely the law is not balanced for both us and them alike? How is it one crime gets the prime ministers attention but this obvious crime - on camera does not?
bogart 6 years, 1 month ago
PRACTICAL REALITY.....FOR HOW MUCH LONGER...UNLESS SOMEONE GRABS THE BULL BY THE HORNS. The authorities need to have a serious look at the overall Crime and Punishment as it exists on a small island , wid the key words small island.......Crime just seems to pay or gone limp one looks at the way the justice system operates....hundreds or thousands of cases backlogged..?????.......where it appears it seems persons are caught red handed in the criminal act.....,murder, tiefing.....but a few mornings later that same person can be in the ....same small island...foodstore line in front of you .....it would seen to appear that a lot of killings are vengence...retribution...now seems to have even dd..."contract killers"..."hitmen"....persons are just seeking instant judge...jury...executioner......and civil liberty tossed aside.....who can blame someone if they have to be arresting someone for the umpteenth time if they have or perceived to have done a crime on a loved one....agsin on this small island.....start the town meetings....call in the experts...move forward stead of erratically bouncing from shootings in the head....bloody picture video.... Lack of an lasting..effective justice system for all is needed where all parties can feel satisfied .....and the matter fades away overtaken by constructive nation building
BahamasForBahamians 6 years, 1 month ago
If having to arrest a suspect for the upteenth is frustrating a police officer and he shows it by putting his knee on their chest then he is demonstrating that he is no longer fit for the service and should do the honorable thing and resign.
Police Officers have gotten it wrong upteen times as well so there is a chance that even that suspect is actually innocent and should be treated so until the courts decides otherwise.
DDK 6 years, 1 month ago
Methinks our Bahamian POlice have been watching too much U.S. television or social media reports. Hope they are not emulating their U.S. brothers in uniform. They will become no better than the criminals.....
Porcupine 6 years, 1 month ago
BahamasForBahamians and ThisIsOurs. Stay the course. This is the very issue which holds us back as a nation. Continue to take the high road.
hrysippus 6 years, 1 month ago
I just find our policemen scary and I try to avoid them whenever possible. Remember that PR campaign that said The Police are my friends? They were not being very friendly to this man.
John 6 years, 1 month ago
The same quote that was used last week: "to keep the poor from getting a fair trial and to deprive the needy among my people of justice, so that widows can be their spoil and they can plunder the fatherless." (Isaiah 1:23 Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them., words of the Bible, not mine). It is not a police officer's duty to meet out punishment. His job is to capture the culprit, keep him safe , charge him and take him before the courts and present evidence. Whatever happened to "Guilty until proven innocent?" (Freudian slip or just pure reality).
bogart 6 years, 1 month ago
CRIME DISEASE NOW GOING IN THE METASTATIC ..STAGE... The evidence of terminology for years contract killers ...hitmen...acts of vengence.?retribution...prevalence of gums...etc is there. Yes corruption....dishonesty...used commonly..basic .webbsites warning of crime in the Bahamas..affecting GDP...lives...work....... Time to try and find new cures...trying solutions year after year after year...not working despite best efforts..early release program...teaching skills in prison...Btvi....job fairs in neighbourhoods....low, high, middle road....fact is...nobody wearing gold jewellry...the nation has changed lifestyle not taking chances.... the web sites still have crime warnings....persons still die horrifically....crime up..down...people still die violently.... THE medecines for the crime disease in not working....criminals just seem to start earlt....and keeps in an out of jail....well known to the police....till they get old men...or die wjich definitely stops the cycle......for years now....looks like its metastasized ...and needs drastic treatment....
John 6 years, 1 month ago
@bogart if you was this young man on your way to work, clean cut and all, and the police stop you, knock you to the ground and in the struggle you lose your tooth. They have you handcuffed and subdued. And all you are saying is hey the handcuffs are cutting into my wrist and I am choking on my own blood ( from the tooth you knocked out my mouth) ‘ Dawg at least sit me up and let me breathe and not let me choke on my own blood.’ And the only response from the monster in police uniform is to the effect ‘you ger soon be bleeding from your nevk’. What animal is this?
John 6 years, 1 month ago
He i( that officer) is a disgrace to the woman they birthed hit!
bogart 6 years, 1 month ago
@John.....until the results investigations are out...it strongly appears that the policeman is in the wrong.......the CRIME DISEASE HAS GONE IN A METASTATIC STAGE.... John....if the policeofficer is in the wrong....there are a lot more things connected to this that now manifests itself in this situation...punishing the policeman alone is the simple solution but it goes deeper....which is what e should be adressing instead of everyone jumpimg all over...the place....
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