RADIO and television personality, Ossie Rodgers yesterday staged a one-man picket in front of City Hall in Georgetown, protesting what he deemed racial profiling against East Indian Guyanese.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle yesterday, Rodgers said he has received on his television programme numerous complaints from many persons, including market vendors who claim to have been racially profiled by “Hamilton Green thugs”.

However, the incident which fuelled the protest actions occurred last Friday on the route 44 minibus park, where he said he would normally meet with friends in the afternoons.
On the afternoon in question, Rodgers said he stopped there but left for somewhere else. Upon returning, he saw only the girlfriend of one of his friends. After he enquired about the whereabouts of the friend, he was told that he had left with two other friends to use the washroom, and did not return.
Rodgers related that he went to his friend’s workplace on Tuesday, and when he asked what happened on Friday, he was told that city constables had locked up the three friends. His friend told him that when they tried to enquire as to why they were being arrested, they were told they would find out when they arrived at City Hall.

He said his friend asked if he could use his cell phone to inform his girlfriend of what had transpired, but he was told he would be handcuffed if he only tried to use his cell phone.

Upon arriving at City Hall, the three men of East Indian descent were told that they would each have to pay $10,000 bail.
Rodgers said one of them called his boss, who came and paid the $30,000 bail, and they were let go. He noted that the bail receipt did say that they would have had to go to court yesterday, but they did not read the receipt.

Rodgers said he decided to visit City Hall, where he spoke to Deputy Town Clerk, Valerie Clark-Chichester, who informed him that the men were arrested for loitering. He said he questioned how they could possibly have been arrested for loitering, and was told to go back to the City Constabulary and speak to the Assistant Superintendent, who also told him his friends were arrested for loitering.

“I said you guys target these guys because they are young Indian guys, they look defenseless and you’re trying to get money out of them. How can you arrest someone for loitering on a park where they’re waiting on their bus at seven in the night?” he lamented.

He said that at that point, a group of them came and started arguing with him. Someone suggested that they check the diary, which has records of all arrests, and according to which, the three men were arrested for ‘littering’ on the park. He stressed that this is a lie.
Rodgers said he contacted Town Clerk, Carol Sooba, who said she had sent a memo, since they had already initiated a complaint and had instructed Chief Constable, Andrew Foo to stay the charges pending an investigation into the allegation of racial profiling.

He said he was called to City Hall by Mr Foo, who informed him that his friends would still be charged, because the charges were already filed.

Rodgers said he called Sooba, who said she never instructed the Chief Constable to call him, and also informed him that the charges must be stayed.

The three friends subsequently went to court yesterday, and one of the charges was dropped, since the magistrate could not even read what was written on the docket.
According to Rodgers, the docket was illegible because the charges were hastily prepared.
“They wanted the $30,000, but after I created a whole scene at City Hall, that’s why the charges were hastily prepared,” he declared.

Rodgers said the other two men were sent away on bail, and have to return to court at a later date. He also claimed that one of the City Constables went into the workplace of one of his friends and threatened him to plead guilty when he went to court.