Shavar Bain Jr
By KHRISNA RUSSELL
Deputy Chief Reporter
krussell@tribunemedia.net
THE mother of seized toddler Shavar Bain Jr last night accused authorities of beating her boyfriend during the time he was held by police in the hours their son was missing.
Dwaynira Thurston alleges police “tortured” and abused both her and the boy’s father, Shavar Bain Sr, ultimately accusing them of kidnapping their own child.
Ms Thurston told The Tribune yesterday her human rights were violated when officers came to arrest her at 2am Sunday and refused to leave her bedroom to give her the privacy of getting dressed.
While this was taking place, she alleges Shavar Bain Sr had already been in police custody for several hours and was being tormented by brutal means in an attempt to coerce a confession.
Royal Bahamas Policed Force Superintendent Marlon Fulford confirmed yesterday the Complaints and Corruptions’ front office received a report from Mr Bain yesterday, adding police would investigate the claims he made.
Mr Shavar was watching his son and several other children outside playing as he washed a car across the street. He had taken his eyes off of the children for a brief moment to speak with his mother, also in close proximity.
This is when Shavar Jr was was taken from outside his home at South Beach Estates as he rode a bicycle shortly before 6pm Saturday. Police said a witness to the brazen kidnapping stated he saw the toddler taken off his bicycle by two women, who put him in their silver coloured car and sped away from the scene.
About 13 hours later, he was dropped off shortly after 7am Sunday right outside of Sunrise Wash house at Fox Hill and Joe Farrington Roads. As speculation remains over why he was taken, Ms Thurston ruled out the incident being connected to a domestic dispute. This detail was told to The Tribune by National Security Minister Marvin Dames as he moved on Sunday to quell concerns that kidnapping could become an issue in the Bahamas, telling this newspaper this was not a random incident.
What transpired during the time the assailants held the child was a nightmare, Ms Thurston said.
“They had him from about eight something that night (Saturday) until like about three something the next day (Sunday). After they found my son seven o’clock they still had him in custody until about three something almost four o’clock waiting on the swelling of the hand to go down, you see,” Ms Thurston said, speaking on behalf of her partner Mr Bain.
“They beat him (and) this is everything that he told me. This ain’t what someone else tell me. He said they put bag on his head and he bite through the first bag because he couldn’t breathe. They put another one over his head he say they was suffocating him, chocking him. Say one big CDU officer was sitting on his back. They had him handcuffed to the ground.
“He said he was stomping him in his chest and it started he say because the first inspector hit him in his face… burst his head off. Then the officer said put him in the back then they started to beat him.”
According to Ms Thurston, Mr Bain believes the beating was more severe because the officer delivering most of the blows was also allegedly drinking alcohol. Up to yesterday she said he was complaining of chest pains and other injuries from the abuse suffered while in custody.
Speaking about her experience, Ms Thurston said she was not physically harmed by police, but she felt violated and degraded having to dress herself in the presence of three male officers who refused to afford her the courtesy of changing from her nightwear to be taken to the South Beach Police station for a second time.
“They come here after two o’clock in the morning. I had on a shirt and a short pants.
“I was laying down in this bed and they could see my eyes hurting. I have the towel over my face. My eyes red where I been crying so much. My other four children in the bed, I laying across the bed.
“Three male officers come in here. I have on a short pants and a shirt and they standing up in here. I was not dressed and they would not come out of the room.
“No woman officer was with them. They would not move out the room. I trying to put on my clothes and they standing right here looking in the room. They would not move from this door.”
She said she was then taken to the police station along with another relative. Once there, she got the chilling news.
“I told them that I had already given a statement. So they said no miss we are locking you up for abduction of your son
“I said listen to me y’all locking me up for abduction of my son. I was laying down in the bed with my four children and y’all talking f*ery bout locking me up? I said let me call my lawyer because I need to see something.
“I couldn’t talk in there. They were taking pictures of me. I said you all taking my rights. They answered none of the questions I had about the search for my son.
“I just wanted answers and saying to myself they ain’t looking for my son.”
By the time she was moved from the South Beach Station to CDU’s office on Thompson Boulevard, Shavar Jr had already been dropped off at the Sunrise Wash house and in police custody.
“As I reach to CDU the woman opened the car door and I see my son walk out the car. I automatically start crying. I was overwhelmed.”
She was released from police custody, but believes this was only the case as Shavar Jr needed parental supervision to be seen by the hospital.
What should have been a happy reunion was clouded by uncertainty over Shavar Sr. When he was finally released, Ms Thurston claimed no private clinic or even the Princess Margaret Hospital would give him medical attention.
Yesterday she said they were told by police he need a special document which would have been given after filing the complaint, permitting him to receive medical care.
While little Shavar is somewhat back to normal, he is still traumatised by the moment he was snatched from his bicycle.
“He was so shaken and scared he wasn’t answering CDU officers. So as I was bathing him in the tub Sunday I said, Shavar tell mommy what happened.
“He can’t really talk properly but he could talk where you could understand to hear what he saying. He said ‘mommy the lady wap (sic) me cross my foot with the slippers and tell me shut up and go sleep. The woman tell me go sleep two times’”
“He said when he woke up the woman carried him to McDonald’s to get him something to eat and all.
“Who can this be?”
As for a suspect, Ms Bain said she informed police of threats of death sent to Shavar Bain Sr by a woman purporting to be a man. However, in her opinion, police did not do due diligence to ensure this person was not responsible for the toddler’s abduction.
The family is now looking forward to moving past the incident.
Little Shavar is back to his normal self as if nothing ever happened.
While she too would like to be happy, having been reunited with her son, Ms Thurston said she fears there could be another abduction as police have still not captured the two women believed to have taken and returned her son.
Comments
John 5 years, 8 months ago
Imagine your son, your first born goes missing, apparently kidnapped and you don't know if he is living or dead. Then you are taken by police and given the most vicious beating of your life and still detained, even after your son is recovered. Despite what a learned psychologist has said about males being sexually and physically abused in their toddler/youth years and this leading to violence and even murder the country is experiencing today, the police force has done more damage to more young men than any other institution in this country. Any! And both Marvin Dames and Anthony Ferguson should hold their head in shame and be removed forthwith... they are breeding a gang of torturing animals and not running a police force. And no this does not include the entire force. There are many upstanding officers who, too are shocked by some of the horror stories and the illegal actions of some police officers. But Dames and Ferguson are fully aware of the torture they allow their officers to inflict on innocent young men in this country, destroying them mentally or physically and disabling them for life. The beatings with baseball bats, the use of mechanical tools on one's genitals, the electric shocking, the placing of plastic bags over the head until the victim passes out, probably suffering brain damage, due to lack of oxygen, that does not manifest until later. Persons dying in custody and now even reports of persons allegedly going missing in the hands of the police. Any dummy knows that if you damage a number of innocent men to solve one crime and find one guilty person, then society becomes filled with damaged individuals who become anti-police and anti-social and eventually they become labeled as "known to police." Injured people seek to hurt other people.
xtreme2x 5 years, 8 months ago
SECONDED IT
DDK 5 years, 8 months ago
It becomes more and more apparent that many of the people we should be looking at with respect for performing the service of keeping our communities safe, are nothing more than a group of psychotic savages.
tell_it_like_it_is 5 years, 8 months ago
This story is very believable because there have too many incidents of police brutality in this country. What's worse is... NOTHING ever happens to these officers.
If this is true and the supervising officers do nothing about this, they are just as bad. EVERYONE has rights. It seems most police feel that it's their JOB to beat up people to get the answer they want to hear.
If police understood that they COULD NOT get away unpunished, they wouldn't feel so comfortable beating people up and thereby, infringing upon their rights! SMH
stislez 5 years, 8 months ago
Jah kno, i personally know of a few horror stories about the cops beating people close to death. if any officer think they gone beat me and get away with it trust me.............they only could hold me for so long ya know. Even if I get convicted of a crime what I didn't do. When ever the day come and I free........all hell break loose! I say everyone I cud member DEAD! IDGAF, u aint gone half kill me for something i aint do. Matter of fact, ine takin no slaps either! Ya hit me I hittin ya back, inspect or not! I know they gone gang me ya kno or even shoot me........but they gatta kill me.......on GOD!
TheMadHatter 5 years, 8 months ago
"Yesterday she said they were told by police he need a special document which would have been given after filing the complaint, permitting him to receive medical care."
So in the Bahamas if you are beaten up badly and go to a clinic you have to provide proof of who beat you and it cant be the police or you will be denied?
Or did they call around and give the names to all the clinics? Hi this is officer Smith and we are hereby ordering you to deny medical care to John Doe. Is that how it works?
Can the Tribune obtain and publish one of these "special document"s in generic form?
John 5 years, 8 months ago
.Kill the father to find the missing son!
ThisIsOurs 5 years, 8 months ago
"This detail was told to The Tribune by National Security Minister Marvin Dames as he moved on Sunday to quell concerns that kidnapping could become an issue in the Bahamas, telling this newspaper this was not a random incident."
Is this a pattern? This the second time the minister of national security "made up a story" when asked about an incident. He did the same thing around Byron Ferguson intimating that he was trafficking drugs. what is this??? Make a criminal of the injured party so noone could claim crime is up?
SP 5 years, 8 months ago
OMG! What shameful, horrifying story. Police brutality has always been a norm in the Bahamas! Pindling, Ingraham, Christie and now Minnis condone police torturing people, otherwise, it could not continue.
These people need to find themselves a good attorney and sue their pants off!
pileit 5 years, 8 months ago
Fred Smith, QC, here are 2 Bahamians who need your well-honed skillset.
John 5 years, 8 months ago
How many officers have Anthony Ferguson dismissed of suspended since taking control of the force? This gestapo type policing came into effect when he was a member of the force. And the increase in violent and deadly crime has a direct correlation with police abuse and mistreatment of persons in their custody and the public in general.
John 5 years, 8 months ago
The reason you don’t hear much about police killings and beatings in the US is because courts are no longer leaning towards police officers in these matters. In fact when officers are found guilty of unlawfully beating a citizen or wrongful death they are given very harsh sentences. Harsher than a regular citizen . The presumption is a police officer should know better. And in Florida the crackdown on rogue officers has become so serious when there is a police involved shooting, the police staff association brings its own lawyers to the scene to protect the rights of their officers. The end result is officers are exercising more diligence in the execution of their duties and whenever there is a police involved shooting, the public is more inclined to believe it was justified. Here a police spokesman stands over an innocent body riddled with 18 bullet holes and still warm and says ‘there will be no special investigation into this murder (sic).’ And that’s that!
Chucky 5 years, 8 months ago
Cant wait till people start giving these Pigs (police) what they giving out.
The bully police gonna cry like mad when some crowd gives them a serious beating.
HAHAHAHA
they got it coming, they earning it right now
lazybor 5 years, 8 months ago
so sad
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