Duncan Dyason, Director and Trustee of Street Kids Direct, recieved a phone call on Sunday 24th May from a street boy called Kevin in distress and saying that the police were “beating” he and his friends up.  A few minutes later Duncan, Walter and two volunteers from the UK (Blakey & Kat) headed to zone 4 and found a group of 8 young people together with 14-year-old Kevin waiting on a street corner.

Kevin was obviously very upset, as was Selvin who began to cry and tell the team how much his legs hurt as he had been beaten by a police baton.  Kevin then told how one officer, who he identified to be the man with the dark glasses that has a camera, had grabbed him and put a gun to his head and threatened to shot him if he didn´t move on.  The same officer then grabbed another youth, 17-year-old William, and said, “I will come back and remove your other eye”.  William had lost his right eye a couple of years ago when he was shot in the head.

The young peopple informed Duncan that the police had gone to the 5th Avenue in La Terminal to clear away the street population, so Duncan and the team drove over to La Terminal and found 18 police officers watching over a team of municipal workers remove personal possessions of those who live on the street and loading them into a bulldozer.  It felt quite oppressive and so Duncan asked Blakey and Kat to pray and encouraged Kat to take as many photos as she could while I tried to identify the police officer with the dark glasses and camera.

Despite the police trying to keep people away Duncan and Walter marched through and found the officer in charge and asked him what he was doing and what orders he had to do this.  The officer tried his best to avoid the questions and said that the team were not permitted to take photos.  Duncan replied saying it was a public place and they were going to take photos and what was he going to do about allegations from the street youths about abuses.  The officer refused to engage and kept saying we could not take photos and that they had rights too.

Duncan then noticed a police officer with the dark glasses that had a camera fitted and he was standing with a group of other officers who realised Kat was taking photos of them.  Some officers removed their identification name badges and it was clear they did not like the attention.  Duncan tried to engage the officer with the glasses in conversation but he was on his radio and held it in front of his name badge.  Duncan asked him to allow him to see his badge but he was obviously not going to oblige.  So Duncan took his arm and lowered it so he could take a photo of his badge.  This didn´t go down well and then Duncan was shouted at by the officer.

As the officer walked away Duncan followed him and continued the “conversation” which went along the lines of how he had threatened a child with a gun and another with the removal of his eye.  

Thanks to Kat who managed to get many photos of the officer and also others who had removed their ID badges.  At this point the local mayor for zone 4 came to Duncan and said he would look into these allegations and have the officer into his office for a chat.  

Sadly our friends on the streets have reported many such abuses over the last two years including regular beatings by the Municipal Police and incidents of how Municipal tankers had arrived in the middle of the night and soaked them all with freezing cold water as they slept.  The water incident was in December and on one of the coldest nights!

The aforementioned incidents had to lead Street Kids Direct to action and we began a Facebook and Twitter campaign and Steve Poulson started an online petition against these abuses.  We have also made formal declarations to the Human Rights Office that evening and the following day to the Public Ministry office.  We await more news and action that should be taken by the Municipal authorities to investigate these abuses and bring officers to trial for their crimes.  

We have also been supported by the Rt Hon Cheryly Gillan MP who has taken up the situation with the British Foreign Secretary.

PLEASE SUPPORT by signed the petition here.