RELATIVES of Onika Thompson, a 25-year-old mother, are calling on the relevant authorities to look into the behavioural trend they allege that members of the Guyana Police Force have adopted, which they believe is an overuse of power. On July 18th, the family alleged that several Officers violated the woman and arrested her on no particular basis.

Thompson appeared in court the next day and pleaded not guilty to three charges, which varied from resisting arrest to disorderly behaviour and was placed on $50,000 self-bail, following a scuffle with ranks from the Guyana Police Force.

According to Thompson, ranks had visited the home in search of her cousin Marlon, who resides aback of the premises.

“When they come into the yard they asked for Marlon and I told him that he lives at the back in the next house,” she related.

“After they collect him, one of the officers told my 13-year-old sister to go into my cousin’s house and bring clothes for him to put on and I told my sister not to go into the house because she wasn’t living there and she doesn’t know what was inside the house,” Thompson explained.

Following this, she said that the officers began shouting at her, but she still did not allow her sister to go into the other house.

“I made it clear to them that since they are the ones doing the arrest they should go in and get the clothes for the man,” Thompson told the Chronicle.

After an exchange of words, the police took the man to the station but returned only a few minutes later with two female police ranks to have Thompson arrested.

“I was inside of the home breastfeeding my baby when the ranks came in and told me that I’m under arrest, so I asked them for what, but they didn’t respond to me at all. They just began tugging at me to take me outside.”

Thompson said she was embarrassed as she was in no condition to be treated the way she was. The woman, in a state of dismay, claimed that her baby almost fell out of her hand after the officer began tugging at her and it was her younger sister who, by a fluke, grabbed the baby before she landed on the floor.   

Relatives said they were left in a state of shock at the way the woman was treated for no particular reason, and also because of the fact that the woman had only given birth 5 days before the incident.

Thompson was eventually released from police custody, but had to be rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital after she began bleeding.
The next court day was set for July 25th, 2011 for her to answer to another charge.