.png)
‘Officers don’t go out with intent to cause problems’- CoP Matthews
“We are, after all, your police and we police democratically here, we do it by consent we don't do it by force,” Mr Matthews told Journalist Cathy O. Richards during an October 7, 2020 interview on JTV’s The Big Story.
No intent to cause problems – CoP Matthews
CoP Matthews continued, “And whilst you know every now and again I will get challenged about the use of force and… whether my officers are polite or not and so forth, I'll always maintain that we don't go out there with intent to cause problems to the public,” he said.
Over the course of the 2020 year particularly during the onset of the COVID-19 lockdowns and after, the Force has come under heavy public criticisms for its use of force, tasing and arrest of VI youths.
The most recent lambasting of the actions of police came following a video showing police struggling with a young man and subsequently throwing a man to the ground before handcuffing him on September 27, 2020.
Use of excessive force?
The video, which was widely circulated on social media, had seen persons agreeing that the young man was resisting arrest; however, some also felt the use of such force was not necessary, especially since the man was initially stopped for a traffic violation.
Speaking to JTV, Mr Matthews said at the end of the day, the force is only trying to protect the VI community, “We go out there every single day to try and protect the public and I'm just grateful for the continued support that we receive,” he said.
The Top Cop had previously remarked that by law, officers are still entitled to use reasonable force as is necessary in any given circumstances and that social media videos alone cannot tell the full story.
.png)
Follow Us On
22 Responses to “‘Officers don’t go out with intent to cause problems’- CoP Matthews”
You could put nun attire on a wicked person and they’ll still be vindictive.
Its a set of pigs you have.
Every case must be treated on its own merit. when some persons in the public become aggressive and violent toward other persons or toward the police, the police must use necessary force to restrain that person, if and only if that person is resisting a command of under-arrest.
There are, however, circumstances, where a person chose to give a little "back-chart" during a traffic stop which does not amount to an offence, because back-chart without threats is not a crime, but an ignorant police officer may respond with verbal aggression or even an arrest for this "back-chart".
Police officers must be trained to focus on the law and the breaches of the law, and not on personal emotions because some member of the public give a little "back-chart".
The laws of the BVI are not the personal law of any police officer, so when a person breaches the law of the BVI, a police officer must not respond or react aggressively to the alleged offender.
The police should not behave like the complainant, investigator, magistrate, judge and jury, with personal emotions. People have a fundamental right to talk-back, and if the talk-back is not threats, so what?
The Constitution declared that any person charged with a criminal offence, is innocent until proved guilty in a court of law, so all police officers must deal with offenders as not guilty of the offence, until the matter goes to court.
What you want to promote is better public-police relationship, and the only way to achieve that is for the police to respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of all individuals in the BVI.
Most offenders are adults, so they must spoken to as adults.
Without the presence of the public, there will be no need for police, so public and police must work together.
But you’re not leading by example, are you m***?
Taking selfies with your buddy g***, flaunting your lifestyle and wealth at our expense as you’re both on our necks as we starve.
What kind of so called ‘leaders’ are you?
You are both the worst we’ve ever had & you both need to go ASAP.
We will definitely NOT miss either of you. Enjoy your friendship & selfie taking. You are both fit for each other.