The Tribune

By MORGAN ADDERLEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

madderley@tribunemedia.net

RIGHTS Bahamas chairperson Mona Agenor was arrested yesterday in an alleged violent encounter with police and immigration officials.

Her 15-year-old daughter said the incident has left her emotionally scarred, telling The Tribune: “He said if my mummy didn’t go, he would bodyslam her”.

The Tribune has reached out to officials for comment, but received no response on the matter.

Ms Agenor, the group’s chairperson for Migrant Rights, and several family members were still in custody up to press time last night. In a separate release, the Immigration Department said it had apprehended 28 Haitian nationals in a joint operation called ‘Rising Sun’ with Southwestern Division police and K-9 units.

After further processing, 16 people were committed to the Carmichael Road Detention Centre for various immigration offences, including illegal landing and overstaying, the release said.

The operation began at 4am, the release continued, and covered Flamingo Close, Jubilee Gardens, Venice Bay, Area 51 Haitian Village, Carmichael Road, Sir Milo Butler Highway, McKinney Drive and Bedrock Haitian Village off Bacardi Road. 

Immigration’s press statement does not refer to a specific incident; however, it warned the general public the department will not tolerate “blatant and deliberate assault on our Officers while executing their duties”. 

Ms Agenor, a Bahamian citizen, was reportedly arrested sometime after 5am.

Yesterday, her daughter recounted the harrowing moments when law enforcement officials allegedly stormed her yard on Carmichael Road, beat her relatives and handcuffed her.

She said she was arrested along with eight other family members, and remained in police custody for four hours with her two younger siblings.

The teenager said she felt “traumatized” after the incident.

In a statement released yesterday, activist group Rights Bahamas described the incident as a “vicious, brutal and illegal attack”.

“In the dead of night, officers forced their way into her home and began beating Mona and her children - all Bahamian citizens and detaining (them) without lawful cause,” RB’s statement read.

“During the assault, Mona called (RB Vice President) Dawrin Thompson, who could hear officers shouting curses at the family, one officer even declaring that he does not need a warrant to search their home.

The statement continued: “Rights Bahamas can confirm that the victims were subjected to severe human rights abuses and today bear the scars and swollen faces to prove it.”

The Tribune canvassed Ms Agenor’s neighbourhood yesterday, where relatives and neighbours alike expressed their disgust with the way officials carried out the search.

The officers demanded to be let onto the property, but Ms Agenor’s daughter said her mother refused them entry without a warrant.

The teenager said her 15-year-old male cousin described the officers as “jokey” - which prompted the attack.

“They rush up on him and start beating him,” she said, estimating about 9 officers were involved.

She said another cousin went towards the scuffle - and was also beaten.

“They hold him down…And they point a gun to his body and started beating him too.”

The teenager also noted at one point, the officers fired a gun into the air.

Two other male cousins reportedly joined the scuffle - including 18-year-old Evenson Maxine.

“When I see all them jump up on my cousin and start hittin’ up on him, I tried to stop it,” Mr Maxine said.

“I was like ‘he only 15, y’all can’t do that’. And one of them grab me and put me right against the fence, start roughing me up- hold me and choking me n ting. And then the next come up out of nowhere like he wanted to hit me. And then (another officer) said ‘lock him up, put him in the bus.”

Mr Maxine said while on the bus, the officers seated his younger cousin next to him.

“They let him sit next to me and they was running on with him. And he mussy say something to them -he was mad- and they hit him.

“(The officer) punch him so hard, he hit my head and my head buck the glass on the bus.”

Ms Agenor’s daughter told the Tribune she recorded some of the scuffle on her cellphone. She added because of this, a female officer became aggressive with her.

The Tribune has seen two video clips which show a woman officer, and another man in plainclothes attempting to grab at the recording phone amidst a chaotic scene.

“She came at me like she wanted to attack me,” the teenager said. “My mummy and sister stood in front of me.”

She said as they retreated inside the house, the officers followed.

“All of them was towards my mummy. My mummy was on the phone with her lawyer. The officer said ‘ain no lawyer inside here’.

The teen continued: “He yucked my phone and my mummy phone. All them wanted my phone so bad because of that video. He ended the call with the lawyer. He said if my mummy didn’t go, he would bodyslam her.”

The teenager said she was “scared” during the ordeal. For his part, Mr Maxine described the situation as as “very disrespectful”.

A neighbour, who wished to be identified as Ms Roberts, 33, echoed similar sentiments about the officers’ conduct - noting they also “stormed inside” her home.

Ms Roberts said they presented no warrant yet pried her kitchen door open with a crowbar and “kicked open every door” inside.

“I was afraid and angry,” she told the Tribune. She added the officers demanded identification and left after she showed them her and her children’s passports.

Ultimately, Ms Agenor, her 18-year-old daughter Eldeanna, her sister Jacintha, her three nephews and her three minor children were arrested and taken to the Carmichael Road Police Station.

Ms Agenor’s three minor children were released after roughly four hours in police custody.

RB President Stephanie St Fleur as well as Mr Thompson were present at the station. 

In the statement, RB noted Ms Agenor has been “diligently working” on the organization’s fight against the government’s “illegal demolition policy” for shanty towns.

“We have no doubt that this incident was a case of calculated retaliation and as such, an extremely serious violation of international human rights rules,” the statement continued, adding RB is reporting the incident to its international partners.

RB also promised to “immediately file” for protections for Ms Agenor and her family. It also said it is going to “ take immediate legal action over the abuse of their constitutional rights, and seek to commit the organizers of this attack to prison”.

Yesterday, the Immigration Department’s release read: “We will continue to conduct our duties without fear, favour or malice in a civil, humane and fair manor consistent with both local and international laws.

It continued: “The Department will not tolerate the blatant and deliberate assault on our Officers while executing their duties or continued breaches of the Statute Laws of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas.”