The police need to be taught how to deal with people, say some Swan Street store owners.
The business bosses are saying there is abuse of authority by the Royal Barbados Police Force, following the arrest of Renaldo White, owner of Fitted Kings Clothing & Shoe Store last Friday evening.
Twenty-three-year-old White, operating in The City for the past five years, was arrested and taken away when he refused to remove items he had on display outside of his store.
Re-emphasizing that he was not selling on the outside, White said: “I have the shoes on the rack on the outside for display. I do not transact any sales on the outside.
“So if I have to remove the items, then I would have to remove the sign as well, as they are all forms of advertising.”
Yesterday White explained that last Friday evening a sergeant asked him to take the items inside, but he refused.
Following that, the officer asked for identification, but before he could return inside the store the sergeant told the two accompanying Task Force officers to arrest him.
“They bounded on me with guns, as if I am a criminal [and] handcuffed me . . . .”
White is concerned about the manner in which the police carried out their duties.
“It is an abuse of power. All I wanted to do was to go inside and get the letter; if he [the sergeant] had taken the time to listen to me then he would have seen his error,” White said.
Since July last year, White’s lawyer David Comissiong prepared a letter addressed to Police Commissioner Darwin Dottin outlining that White’s method of displaying his items was to attract business and did not constitute illegal vending.
White complained that he was humiliated, lost business and was physically hurt by the aggressive nature of his arrest.
“It was a busy time for the business, I was the only one here and they removed me from my business leaving it unattended and I did not get a chance to close the shop,” said White, whose wrists are swollen and left hand is now in a sling.
He said had to be given a tetanus shot when he visited the FMH Emergency Medical Clinic, as the handcuffs were applied too tightly. “I am a very progressive young man who never got into any trouble with the law.
I don’t smoke, drink or party; and they treat me like a criminal,” said the former Deighton Griffith School teacher who was also one of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) hopefuls for the candidacy in the St John by-election.
The owner of Genesis Touch boutique, who also witnessed the incident, is also concerned about the way the situation was handled. She contends that the treatment makes the store owners want to give up.
“After paying over $10 000 each month in rent we cannot display our items!”
White said that since the Friday incident the sergeant in question had since returned and apologized for his actions.
Police public relations officer Inspector David Welch said he was unaware of the incident and advised that a formal complaint could bemade to the Office of Professional Responsibility or the Complaints Authority. Meanwhile he will investigate the matter. (LK)
