The Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) is once again finding itself in the hot seat with a married mother accusing two rogue officers of forcing her to live through a horrific ordeal over the Easter Monday holiday.

Phedra Forbes, a 26-year-old woman who works at Nassau Flight Services (NFS) told The Bahama Journal that she has been left traumatised following her encounter with those officers.

It was just before 3:00 a.m. Monday that Mrs. Forbes, who was heading to assist her father, was stopped by police while driving along Balfour Avenue near St. Charles Vincent Street.

Mrs. Forbes, who broke down in tears during yesterday’s interview, said she was initially stopped by two patrol officers who cautioned her about speeding. She denies going over the speed limit, but explained to officers what had transpired with her relative.

“They told me that I was going too fast and I explained to them the situation with my father. The officers said they would follow me out to the main road so that I could get to the nearest police station,” she said.

However, Mrs. Forbes said those officers who were assisting her were stopped by another patrol car with two more officers as they turned onto Washington Street, who soon convinced the two initial officers that they would deal with the matter.

And this is where Mrs. Forbes claims her nightmare began.

The two new officers to the scene again made her get out of her vehicle and this time accused of running the traffic light.

However, she noted that there was no traffic light in the area as she was stopped near the E.P. Roberts School.

Mrs. Forbes described one of the officers as being particularly aggressive and threatening toward her.

“I asked him what I did wrong,” she recalled. “He said, ‘you ran the red light; you ran the red light.’ I told him, ‘Sir, you do not have to come that close to me’.”

Mrs. Forbes said the officer took her phone and work ID badge away from her and became considerably forceful and aggressive, shoving her in the process.

“He said to me, ‘you young girls really think man does play…y’all really think man does play,’ Mrs. Forbes said.

Mrs. Forbes said the officer then began “undressing her with his eyes” and remarked on her clothing. She said she was wearing a maxi dress at the time. She said she started to fear that she would be sexually assaulted by the officer whom she claimed appeared intoxicated and seemed to be suggesting that she offer up something to resolve the matter.

“The officer started pushing me and grabbing me and telling me I was locked up and I told him that if he was not going to charge me or issue me a ticket that he should just let me go,” she said.

“At that point he grabbed me and started taking me to the patrol car. He opened the back door of the car and started pushing me inside. I fought off as hard as I could to not end up in their put he still managed to get me in the back seat. He then threatened to take me out in the western area, but he never said what he was going to do.”

She continued, “I started crying and told him that I am a married woman with children and told him to write the ticket if he needed to, even though I was guilty of nothing. He said, ‘Oh, this ticket is going to cost more than $1,000. You have plenty money, aye?’ I said if there is a fine, I am willing to pay it. He then asked me, ‘What you could do for me? Thompson, what you think she could do for us?’ I said, ‘Do for you? What do you mean, like sexual favours?’ I kept telling him that he can’t be serious.”
Mrs. Forbes said she quietly wondered why the officers did not call for a female police officer to deal with her.
What is equally disturbing to Mrs. Forbes is that during the entire ordeal with the officer, the other officer stood by and never once intervened on her behalf.

She said she repeatedly asked the officers for their badge numbers, but they refused to give her their information.

Mrs. Forbes said this experience has made her reevaluate her view of police officers.

“I know that there are some good officers, but there are some really bad ones who go around doing bad things to people,” she said. “I said to the officer, I am not the first person you have done this to, but I will be the last.”

“He then said, ‘Report me, I know just where you work and trust me, you ga see me out there.’ I asked the second officer, ‘Are you actually going to let him do this to me . . . a female?’,” she said.

She said she then drove to the Wulff Road Police Station where she attempted to report the matter to officers. However, she said the officer she spoke with did not appear to take her complaint seriously.

Mrs. Forbes said she spoke with Superintendent Anthony Ferguson and she plans to file a formal complaint with the force’s Complaints & Corruption Branch today.