Pellau Magazine

Published:
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Woman taken away in squad car
Two police constables have been detained in connection with the rape of a woman in Caroni two weeks ago. The officers, who were last assigned to the Freeport Police Station Highway Patrol Department, were arrested on Monday night by investigators from the Professional Standards Unit. The unit, which was established in 2010 by former Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs, is mandated to investigate criminal complaints against police officers.





The lawmen, both in their 20s, from Tabaquite and Enterprise, Chaguanas, remained detained separately at the Barataria and Chaguanas Police Stations up to late yesterday. Police sources said one of the officers was the father of a six-year-old boy while the other officer’s wife is pregnant. Both recently joined the T&T Police Service after serving as SRPs (Special Reserve Police) for several years, police sources said.



The investigations into the officers’ on-duty conduct began two weeks ago when a woman reported she had been raped by them. The woman told investigators she and her boyfriend were parked near the Caroni Bird Sanctuary around midnight when a marked police vehicle, with flashing sirens, pulled alongside them. The woman claimed the officers approached them and after a short conversation ordered her into their vehicle.



She said she followed their commands because she felt she was being taken to the police station to be charged. However, instead she was taken to a desolate area in Chaguanas where the officers took turns raping her. They then dropped her off in Chaguanas. The woman found her way to the Chaguanas Police Station where she made a report. The woman was then medically examined at the Chaguanas Health Facility where it was proven she had been sexually assaulted.



Investigators said the officers were co-operating with them and are expected to be charged with rape, after participating in identification parades later this week. Investigators yesterday visited both officers’ homes and office, where they confiscated their uniforms and other police-issued items. In a brief telephone interview yesterday evening, Supt Johnny Abraham, of the Central Division, confirmed the investigation. “I heard about it but we are not investigating. The Professional Standards Unit investigates that,” Abraham said.



ASP Dookie is probing the incident.

Article taken from the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian