THE job of a police rank is a tough one where law enforcement must do the “impossible for the ungrateful,” according to Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan.

The Minister was at the time commenting on Attorney Ryan Crawford, whose expletive-peppered outburst towards a traffic cop was captured on video which went viral.

However, the Attorney had since said he was frustrated with the conduct of the policeman and has nonetheless apologised for his language.

The Public Security Minister said police ranks must maintain their professionalism and integrity under all conditions.

“You (policemen) do not abuse the human rights of others, let’s give the margin to you facing the abuse and in the course of time you will see yourselves being respected by that same public, history has shown this,” Ramjattan said.

He advised police ranks not to do things that would cause the public to despise the Guyana Police Force.

However, he said policemen were told not to generally stop vehicles unless there is a suspicion in their mind that something is amiss based on what they observe.

“I believe that as a courteous citizen realising that the policeman is trying to do his work you should not explode, but if he stops you to take a bribe I can understand such behaviour,” the Minister said.

The Public Security Minister advised drivers who are faced with unprofessional behaviour to submit a written complaint to the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).

Ramjattan explained that many complaints have been dealt with condignly.

“This is how society goes, it’s not just one day you will wake up and policemen will be perfect human beings, but we know as members of the public that the police too have a difficult job and if you are stopped kindly comply then complain,” the Public Security Minister said.

The Minister acknowledged that the policy of the Police Force is that there must be reasonable suspicion of something amiss before a vehicle is stopped.

“We have done a lot of random searches in the nights that have caught people with illegal guns, because if we are to get the intelligence about everything sometime it won’t work out,” he said.

In a social media post, the lawyer explained that on Thursday last (September 13, 2018) he was signaled from a line of vehicles travelling on the Mahaicony Public Road by a policeman who was standing on the opposite carriage.

“After waiting for a while and not given any explanation or reason for the stop, I became angry for the detention,” he stated.

Crawford admitted that his frustration led him to using “many colourful expletives to get my point across to the officer for the illegal stops,” adding that “there were things said prior to the filming”.

The lawyer said he is not attempting to justify his behaviour, but noted that his frustration about the conduct of police officers has been brewing for a while given that he has “seen and heard of the plight of citizens of this country at the hands of some in the police force.”

Crawford nonetheless admitted that “my language was not proper as an officer for the courts nor as a member of the Bar of Guyana.”

“I apologise for my language but I’m not sorry for questioning any arbitrary authority,” he added.

Police said that the matter is still under investigation.