The Police Welfare Association (PWA) is seeking legal representation for four police officers taken into custody for questioning following the death of a Picard man at the Portsmouth Police Station.
In a letter to attorney general Levi Peter, dated August 8, PWA Chairman, Jefferson Drigo, asked that legal aid be granted for the officers, noting that they acted in “good faith” in the execution of their duties.
“In light of the incident, the PWA is seeking legal representation for the officiers concerned,” Jefferson wrote. “According to Section 98 of Chapter 14.01 of Dominica Revised Laws of 1990, where a police officer is charged with an offence arising out of or in the course of the execution of his duty and the attorney general is satisfied that the officer acted in good faith in the execution of his duty, the officer shall be granted legal aid in the conduct of his defense.”
The officers, the letter concluded, “were on duty and acted in good faith and we are asking that they be granted legal aid.”
Meantime, another letter, from the chambers of Geoffrey Letang to the chief of police, Daniel Carbon, on behalf of the PWA, said the arrested police officers were placed in police cells in breach of the Police Regulations Chapter 14.01 and Police Commission Regulations Chapter 1.01.
“Further based on our instructions, we have been advised by our Clients that you have violated and /or breach fundamental principles and rules of law and procedures relating to investigations and / or arrest of Police Officers,” the letter stated.
It concludes by saying that “in light of the above, we advise and or/ demand that the above named police officers be confined to barracks pending the investigation and until instructions and /or directives from the Police Service Commission. ”
The letter was copied to lawyers Dyer and Dyer and Lennox Lawrence, Cabinet Secretary Steve Ferrol, Director of Public Prosecution Evelina Baptiste, PWA chairman Drigo, and attorney general Peter.
The officers were taken in for questioning last week following an autopsy done on the body of Joshua Etienne whose “seemingly lifeless” body was found in his cell at the Portsmouth Police Station, where he was being held at around 5:00 am on August 5.
He was pronounced dead by a district medical officer.
He was arrested on August 4, at around 9:30 pm in Glanvillia for the alleged possession of ammunition.
The autopsy, according to police chief, Carbon, “confirmed the worst.”
He said the matter was treated as a homicide from the beginning of the investigations and promises “swift justice” for those involved.
Stop trying the case in public. None of us are privy to the facts
No need to jump on Mr. Drigo for perfuming his duties as the Chairman of the PWA. I want justice for Mr. Etienne and his family but also understand that “Due Process” must be followed.
Mr. Carbon has promised swift justice and that I am content with….for now. However, if what is being said by Attorney Letang is true, I must admit we are in a longgggggg fight for the justice that we so crave and Joshua so deserve. The Chief cannot be so desperate that he would jeopardize the outcome of the case by his nonsensical actions. Mr, Carbon, you now have a PRO that can do a much better job than you. Yes we demand justice but you have to follow procedures and the law during the investigation or else the case will be thrown on on a technicality.
Should this case go down the drain we will demand your firing or resignation along with the investigators you have appointed. May the soul of Johnrose Lindsay RIP but to this day we are still crying for justice on his behalf. Like I said in an earlier post, managing a police force is NOT shouting LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT and EYES RIGHT to the whim and fancy of politicians. My eyes and those of the family of Joshua Etienne remains peeled on you and your investigators so do the right things because YOU are the head of the CDPF and the buck stops there.
Assertive, NOT Agressive!
Based on Carbons comments I see a ‘no case submission’ cooked . its like ss if these men have already been found guilty? Well Carbon you mess up this one. They should pay the cost from your gratuity. lol….monkey never see, monkey say!
Isn’t this the same Drigo along with some other officers that was in court in February 2014 for a civil suit brought against them by a M.Peltier? According to the DNO news article, it was reported: “In court documents filed, Peltier claimed as a result of the incident, he has suffered loss and damage namely, “small hematoma, cervical muscle spasms, blunt trauma to the chest, soft tissue injuries to the elbow, lumbalgia and orchitis”. The same article said”under cross examination by Peltier’s attorney, police officer Jefferson Drigo testified that he saw James punch Peltier in his neck, but added, “It is not beating in my books”
Now today here comes the same officer Drigo, after the beating that caused the death of Joshua Etienne, saying the officers acted in ‘good faith.’
As the saying goes – BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER.
https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/crime-court-law/high-court-judge-rules-police-officers/
This statement will forever haunt you Jefferson drigo.
Dominicans it is time to call on all the parliamentary representatives to pass a law to protect citizens against police brutality and if that is not done before elections then do not call on us citizens for vote.
The police need to understand that they are not a gang built to represent their one another interest but ‘Employees’ of the public, Paid by the masses, To serve and protect the masses! And if this is not the case then maybe we need a REVOLUTION.
I’m not saying that the man should have died but I believe some people need a lot of blows, these are the same type of people robbing the ross students as well as residents, burglarizing our business places and raping our animals like cows, sheep, goats and even fowls.
Jeff my good friend money and position do not make you a good person, i salute you in the position you are now holding, but right is right and wrong is wrong, brutalizing prisoners to death cannot be right in any society in any part of the world and to refer to it as officers performing their duty in good faith makes the the nation, the region and the world turn the cameras on you and brings your judgement into question, therefore although you are charges with the responsibility of protecting the members interest you also cannot condone such brutal action.
My friend everyone has a right to an attorney or legal representation i see nothing wrong in what jeff said its just that some of us narrow minded people dont understand the point jeff was making. There was no intent to kill the man. It cannot be denied that exessive force was used and it is wrong as any other crime. Lets let them have a fair trial for Gods sake. Judgement is not ours.
The autopsy according to the police chief “confirmed the worst” so tell me, who acted in good faith? hmmmm
Brutality by the police is not a new thing, they have been doing that for ages. I remember visiting a village some 30 years ago, a young boy was arrested. It hurt my heart to hear this child bawling from blows he was getting from the polo. His relatives were afraid to take the matter further. I hope it is different today. I hope the deceased family take it higher, that is pure wickedness. My CONDOLENCES go to family and friends
Haha what did i say? Dominica is a lawless country nottn na go come out ah dat.
the chief of police should resign forthwith. he should know of prejudicial statements in the court system. how can you say from day one you knew it was a homicide. you suppose to be a manager but you don’t have a management degree so how can we expect you to manage. You are the biggest anti police in dominica and don’t know how you are at the helm of it.i don’t condone what the officers did but as the man at the top of it u should have simply said “it is a sad day for the police force in Dominica and you wish to express deepest sympathy to the family of the deceased and would like to promise transparency in the investigations”. case closed but instead you choose to bash the same men you are in charge of. Which manager bashes his own business. If you are at the helm of a business and its failing are you then not a failure too. Since you took up office things just happening to police officers.You seem to have a damn blight chief Daniel Carbon> start going to church and get sanctified and purified.
I think the Police Chief sees himself as a Dominican and a human person too and in his words “the police is serving the people of the state” where their main goal is to save life and property, then for you to make such a statement tells me either you are one of those brutalizing the people of the state or a close associate to those such perpetrators.
Abeh weh! “IN GOOD FAITH”, well sar!
This is so sad, if a man is resisting arrest, there are other ways to curb his violence, not killing him. No one deserves this brutal, and deadly punishment. The officers are responsible and has to pay for the crime, it is time the law consider police officers as citizens and know that they to can break the law, and in Dominica, some police officers are breaking the law more than civilians. Justice must prevail, we are are family related country and we care for our brothers weather they are bad citizens or not. there are more logic ways to correct the bad ones besides beating and killing.
Mr. Drigo no offence but apart from this which you decribes as ; Acting in Good Faith and trying to get an increase in pay for Police Officers,were u not around cause I don’t think that I have heard u looking for VIP treatment for any officers in the past, is it because they are not your friends and that these Officers who are now in this Mess are your friends?Cause as your Chief said:What is good for the Goose is Good for the Gander.please I would like to know.
The officers are well aware of the Rules of Engagements, Use of Force and the fact that their actions must always be in keeping with the human rights covention pertaining to the rights to life. How can it be said that they acted in “good faith” when they would have thrown a seriously injured man into the cell rather than to have afforded him the medical care that he so needed?
Their failure to act, led to the death of the gentleman. Causation. Guilty action and intent.
From the comments I’ve read it seems like the focus is on the chief. I think the insert of the package there is what Mr.Drigo said;[ They Acted in Good Faith] Mr. Drigo are u Nutts? I personally think that u need to is a Doctor, and that u are just adding more insults to injury . Someone should tell Mr.Drigo some ways in which people could ;Act in Good Faith.
Santana I read your coments over and over and your coments speaks for itself no wonder u speaking in the capacity as former. I can imagine if u had make Chief what it would be like.Nuff Over Up would unfold.
They acted in good faith??? Come on man, you can’t be serious. A man died in police custody. The autopsy clearly shows the large extent of the serious injuries which caused his death, – broken ribs, punctured organ, just to mention a few. As your boss the Commissioner said, the autopsy “confirmed the worst,” and ” the matter was treated as a homicide from the beginning of the investigations.” Now you are stating that the officers in question acted in good faith??? Are you trying to justify what they did??? Wrong is wrong my brother,…… wrong is wrong. The officers must face the consequences of their action.
Boo.
Then the PWA will ask for a raise, threaten to go on strike and the likes….then we tax payers have to pay Mr Etienne’s family compensation for lost of their beloved thanks to the likes of Mr. Drigo. It seems to me Mr Drigo is getting ready to run for public office in the next few years….
I know that ruthless gangs beat people, intimidate them and try to own some degree of fear. Police, as it is always dubbed, Protect and serve. ..?
The police officers “acted in good faith”? WE have not seen the end of that saga. Please explain. A man was caught with ammunition, a certainly serious crime. He was arrested and I suppose the police were interested in finding out more about how and when he came into possession of illegal ammunition. Is there anymore out there and where or who might be in possession of such. What we do not know is what happens after the suspect was taken away from the public. Did he fight the police? How stupid that would be. Did he attempt to flee from the transporting vehicle and in the process fell and caused irreparable damaged to himself? If that is the case, why then was he placed in the police cells and not taken to the hospital? If he did not fall from the moving police vehicle and the police acted according to the PWA within the law, then what is the explanation for broken ribs, punctured lungs, broken limbs etc. Did other prisoners caused those serious life threatening damage to him in the cells? If that is the case, Mr. Drigo, what is the level of supervision that is given to the prisoners in the police cells. The questions to be asked may be long and windy and in the absence of information the public will speculate.
Want is for sure, no one, not even Mr. Drigo would be pleased if a member of his family would end up in the manner in which Mr. Ettienne ended up at the Portsmouth Police Station on the morning of August 5th 2014. I have had problems with Mr. Behanzin and his modus operandi (seeking always to apportion every blame on the political directorate for every blotch in society), but I stand with him on this one. The authorities must seek out and investigate the crime leaving no stone untouched. The PWA must understand that seeking to protect the suspected wrong doings of police officers even before the investigations are complete will only antagonize the public. A Dominican died mysteriously whilstin polic custody. The government thru the Attorney General’s Office must understand too, that they cannot be threatened by the PWA. The correct answers in this matter has to be given and let the chips fall where they may.
Well said
Today my 7 year old boy who always wanted to be a police office told me while eating breakfast “daddy i don’t want to be a police again nah” so i asked him why, he responded “police are criminals just like a paro, they stealing and killing people, just like a paro”. Now hearing this from a 7 year old who always wanted to be a police office from 3 years old made me stop and think….
U should tell ur son inspite of all the corruption, he can be a difference!
I second dat response. There are still a few good police officers out there who is determined to protect and serve and who is bent on making a difference. It’s not going to be a walk in the park but it can happen. They just need our support in weeding out the undesirables one at a time.
I am a former police officer who gave unselfish and dedicated service to the police force.I have also worked with some good policemen and others not to dedicated to the job.I made several arrest whilst serving and even today some of the persons I arrested and charged address me as ,”officer” when they meet me whilst some still hold vengeance in their heart.Being a police is a difficult task because you are faced with so many challenges and still have to operate fear and square.No policemen ever wants to take life even if in defending himself or anyone he is tasked to protect.I have never condone police brutality whilst I was a police officer and will never. All and I mean all police officers should know that police brutality is not tolerated in any free society and therefore must be very careful in the execution of their duties.I don’t think no police officer in their right mind thinks otherwise and therefore wouldn’t beat a man until he dies. I may be wrong because to err is human.But what I don’t understand is the tone of the commissioner of police.I have known this man for a while and knows how he thinks.But he should know better.A MAN IS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY.I heard his comments and he sounded like judge,jury and executioner.Whilst it’s true he serves the public but he must remember without the support of his men he cannot police the country alone by giving himself a good name.Instead he must put proper and comprehensive training in place to better equip policemen for the challenges out there and stop criticizing his men in public.It won’t do the image and the moral in the police force any good in the long run.All he needs to do is let the law takes its natarul course and stop convicting his men even before a thorough investigation has been carried out. I know and a lot of the serving police officers know that he likes to condemn police officers even before flipping both sides of the coin.He has done it countless times before and those police officers most of them are back in their jobs.My advise to him is to put incentives in place for hard working officers so that they will feel appreciated, engage more officers in training workshops and equip them with the necessary tools to perform their everyday duties and stop openly and publicly engaging in discussions that do the police force more harm than good.Justice delayed can be perceived as justice denied but rushing to convict and not following right procedures can have its implications at the end.Lets wait and see!!!!!!
@Santana.
well said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t understand how Dominicans think. Do they really think that these officers intended on killing the man? I don’t get it.
And all of them that complaining of police brutality, are the same ones with family members committing crimes and sutiweying them. Killing, raping, destroying young people lives with drugs, etc. but in the eyes of their families they are all of them are saints. SMH
well well Dominichien really par feb, no one is saying the man was innocence of the ‘ALLEGED’ crime or no one ‘sutiweying’ him but 4 police officers beating a man that already in the cell- is not on road they beat him when he was resisting arrest -in the cell with other arrested person watching, so bad that his internal organs damage, ribs broken – that is pure CRIMINAL behaviour. De same police officers the government just paid out $400,000.00 on their behalf for beating up an alleged criminal. De same police officers that breaking into people home in Possie without warrants like criminals.
De entire force criminals just like our family that criminal when a police officer that took office to protect and serve shoplifting – that is CRIMINAL to de bone. Is true de salaries not so big but de police salary bigger than plenty of ours with better benefits. De same police officers that are rapist themselves, that one top police officer is a resident at Stock FARM. De chief need to clean out the force stop taking new officers based on political submissions and friends submission.
So when you looking for Criminals Check out the Police Force
santa,,,, your statement would be different if it was your son
so be careful what you condone
i agree with your comments 100% do you think the police men wanted to kill the man ? no i just think it was an accident and we need to stop saying bad things about the policemen
Santana I am for police officers but there is no justification for of an individual while in custody. He could have been restrained with a handcuff or simply locked in his cell. Come on.
One word: RUBBISH!!!!
Well said Ssntana. The Commish was very undiplomatic in his comments. It seems to me that he needs some public relations training. No on condones what happened to the P/mouth individual but as commissioner he should be more media savvy. He has responsibility for the officers under his command and general public.
‘in Good Faith’
Broke bones. puncture internal organs and the officers act in good faith, papa what if they did not act ‘in good faith’ the victim would have been mined meat
You couldn’t have said better.
fool!!!!!!!!! the question is did the officers intend to kill him? I would not think so! its wrong what they did but remember they are human beings too just like us, so he who is without sin cast the first stone.
The words should be POLICE OFFICERS not policers.. Lol.. Haha..
I have never read that amount of horse Manure before! This is pure RUBBISH Jefferson.
If according to Commissioner Carbon, the autopsy confirmed the worst and the case will be treated as homicide (murder), it simply means that he suspects his police officers of committing murder. How then can the Police Welfare Association and the Attorney General say that the suspected police officers acted in good faith?
Seriously!
when civilians act in self defense they have to undergo all criminal disadvantages(sleep in a smelling sell, go stockfarm remanded, abuse from police just to name a few) until their verdict. So even after the police you all are still demanding VIP treatment fro them, what is good for the gooss good for the gander.
Why are the officers name not listed here… Were talkin about the death of a young man not because he was held with amunition. My nephew was held and was beaten in his cell because he did not talk the truth… Is this the way to treat people?
acted in good faith?? Is you serious?
really mr drigo… are you guys serious? in good faith? i think u should apologize to this man’s family.. how can u even think of using such a term? God help us …..smh
to the family God is still the same today as he was yesterday revenge is his and he will allow justice to prevail…. my prayers are with u all
All this special treatment is ok for the police officers who are involve but who is going to feed them at the barracks in MT. Bruce. Do they have to employ extra help or policemen to care of them????
I got bashed for saying the commissioner was full of crap in his comments. In his excitement to address public he has rushed to action. I will say again justice can only be determined in the courts. He should have shown his toughness by putting these officers to desk duty, suspension, or even termination when the government had to pay over 400k for excessive use of force. He needs to understand good or bad he has to take responsibility and be wise in his words. What if the courts determine it was not murder? What will be his explanation?
He needs to call a meeting of all senior officers and immediately review arrest procedures.
We are already seeing a different tone from the PWA, which is understandable. I have a gut feeling a lot of people are going to be very disappointed in the outcome, the government is going to pay a very large sum of money for wrongful death, and as time passes we will all forget and the case will be locked in our excellent justice system. It is not the first time.
Mr. Chief you are still a policeman.
What I like most abut your comment is that the case will get lost in the “excellent justice system”. When was the last time in Dominica we saw any police officer being brought and convicted in court on such or similar charges. When situations such as these happen we talk and talk and talk. Then It is reported that so and so was charged and will be brought to court. He/she actually drives to court. Nothing ever happens after.
The Police Welfare Association even before the investigations are complete and a decision reached on the circumstances surrounding the sudden death of a suspect whilst in police custody, has already determined that the officers have done noting wrong and that the state must pay to defend them. The officers have not been arrested or charged or brought to court for that matter. They are free to roam the corridors and offices of senior officers at police headquarters, they were even allowed to go home for a night according to news reports (no fear of interfering with witnesses or contaminating the evidence, no rush to press charges within the 72 hours period as occur with so many other suspects and the PWA want the state to pay for their defence as they acted properly and within the rules of engagements – my words. Let us see too whether the authorities will fall for the presssure from the Attorney and behave as per the Atttorney’s understanding of the procedures to be employed with active duty police officers in crime such as these. How long? Not long! We go see Mr. Drigo! One day, justice will be done even when a family member is involved with the same police. We live here. We go see!
With all due respect Chief Carbon. this incident did not happen in a vacuum. You speak of swift justice. You only want swift justice as a PR stunt.
This alleged type abuse has been going on for a while and because it did not result in death, you and the rest of the police brotherhood turned a blind eye to it.
It is very easy to view these people as the no-goods of society and think they deserve what they get.
The police officers would only behave in that manner if they thought it was acceptable and there would have been no repercussions for their actions. Except this time they went too far.
You and the rest of the police leadership need to take some responsibility for what happened under your watch. Now they your officers have allegedly broken the law and it cannot be kept in the dark as it has always been, you are running for cover and placing the blame entirely on the backs of the officers.
This is not to excuse the actions of the officers, but they are not solely to blame for what happened.
i’m with chief carbon all the way. wrong is wrong.a man is dead.