Categorized | Featured, National News

Commissioner to Investigate Claims of Police Brutality

Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade vowed to personally look into investigations regarding the horrific story told by 16-year-old Santino Oliver who alleged that he was abducted, brutally beaten and left in the Southern Cemetery on Cowpen road by police officers.

After numerous attempts to contact police officials on the matter, the Bahama Journal brought the incident to the attention of Commissioner Greenslade during a press conference at the Police Headquarters on Thursday.

“Someone who also saw your news report shared a picture with me of a young man with injuries to the face and indicted some concerns, my immediate response to that good citizen was if I am going to help you as the Commissioner you must have the person aggrieved go to the complaints and corruption branch and file a proper report that is the only way that I am able to move immediately to assist,” he said.

“I can safely assure you that the matter is being investigated and it will have my personal attention and if we find that police officers are at fault, the law will take its course.”

It was on Wednesday when the Bahama Journal broke the story regarding the incident.

Santino said that he was threatened to be killed if he reported the incident that occurred on Sunday.

He told the Bahama Journal that he had stopped at a home off Prince Charles drive to go and look at a cell phone that was for sale.

At the house, Santino said he saw a motorcycle that he liked but the home’s owner thought the he wanted to steal that bike.

He said the misunderstanding lead to the owner contacting police officers.

Santino added that he was taken from the home by two police officers in an unidentified car where he ended up at the Carmichael Road Police Station; he said that during the entire ride to the station, he was beaten and threatened.

While at the police station Santino said he was kept in the car while an officer went to charge his phone.

Thereafter he was driven to Cowpen Road and was beaten until he was unconscious.

Santino said he woke up in the grave yard at Southern Cemetery.

However, despite the cases of police brutality that have gripped headlines over the years, Mr. Greenslade is convinced that police officers would not have abducted the teenager or any person for that fact.

“Police officers, acting as police officers cannot abduct a person; that’s just a non issue that does not make any sense, police officers can arrest people, police officers can take people into custody say to them they are arrested and take them to a police station that is what police officers can do,” he said.

“So anybody behaving in the fashion you (Bahama Journal) described cannot be police officers.”

Santino suffered numerous fractures to his face.

His mother, Shermantha Lightbourne who is desperately seeking answers and justice has since filed an official complaint at the police head quarters.

Written by Jones Bahamas

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