The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK


Tribune Freeport Reporter


dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A BIMINI mother has accused police officers of beating her 26-year-old son while he was in custody, pulling down his pants and attempting to grab his penis as officers allegedly questioned him about drug dealing on the island.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force has confirmed that the allegations involving Hakeem Rolle are under investigation after his family filed a formal complaint with the Complaints and Corruption Unit in Grand Bahama.

Superintendent Nicholas Johnson, officer in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department and police press officer for the northern Bahamas, said police were aware of the allegations.

“It’s an active investigation,” Supt Johnson said, “and we don’t comment until they establish some facts.”

Mr Rolle and Astra Armbrister, 27, were arrested on Friday, August 21, for allegedly loitering near the entrance to Bimini Bay, according to Mr Rolle’s mother, Alethia Romer-Rolle.

Ms Romer-Rolle said the two men rent golf carts and were near Resorts World Bimini, where cruise passengers disembark, when they were arrested around noon after a cruise ship arrived.

She said her son told police he was trying to deliver golf cart keys to someone but was nevertheless taken into custody.

Police later searched her home and told her that her son would be held for 48 hours, she said.

Ms Romer-Rolle said she feared for her son’s safety while he was detained.

“I tossed and turned all night Friday and Saturday,” she said, “and I prayed, ‘please don’t let them touch my child.’”

Mr Rolle and Mr Armbrister were released on Sunday.

Ms Romer-Rolle said her son told her as they were leaving that police had beaten him.

“When we came out, and going to my car, my son say to me, ‘mommy they beat me, you know,’” she said.

Ms Romer-Rolle alleged that officers beat her son on his buttocks while questioning him about who sells drugs in Bimini.

“They beat him on his butt,” she said, “and he said the officers pulled down his pants and were trying to grab his penis.”

She further alleged that an officer threatened her son, used profanity and held a key to his eye.

According to Ms Romer-Rolle, her son said the officer told him: “They didn’t tell you I was the f***** devil, that’s what my name is.”

She also claimed that her son developed swelling while in custody and was denied his request for medical assistance on Friday.

“My son said he had some swelling and asked for assistance to go to the clinic,” Ms Romer-Rolle said, “and they denied him that from Friday.”

Following their release, she said, both men went to the clinic in Bimini on Sunday, August 23, to have their injuries documented.

Ms Romer-Rolle said she became distressed after learning of her son’s allegations and sought medical attention herself. She was referred to the Accident and Emergency Department at Rand Memorial Hospital in Grand Bahama, where she spent about five hours yesterday.

She also questioned why the men had been arrested for loitering, saying there were no signs prohibiting people from being in the area and that they were trying to earn a living.

“What do they want them to do?” she said. “They want them to kill? They want them to thief? They’re hustling and you’re saying loitering? They’re hustling trying to make their own money.”

Ms Romer-Rolle alleged that there had been other incidents of police beatings on Bimini and called for the practice to stop.

“This beating is something that needs to stop,” she said. “This is going on too long on this island.”

She said the family initially tried to file a complaint in Bimini but was told it had to be reported in Grand Bahama.

“We went to the complaints and corruption unit in Grand Bahama,” she said, “so everything is already filed there.”

The family has also contacted a lawyer.

Ms Romer-Rolle said she was informed that an investigator assigned to the case would travel to Bimini to conduct further inquiries.

The Tribune attempted to speak with senior police officials in Bimini but was told that Sergeant Murray, the officer in charge, was unavailable.