The Guyana Police Force (GPF)’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) is conducting investigations into allegations posted on social media that police ranks at Bartica assaulted and used threatening language towards one Christopher Crighton during a traffic stop.
The ordeal was shared in a video posted on Facebook, in which a voice was heard saying, “I kill yuh muddas@#nt…I’d murder this bai” during a tussle.
Crighton later posted to Facebook saying, “Who knows me, know I am not a disrespectful person and tonight I want the public to see what happen and what played out just because I want to see my own motorcycle that I brought go into the police vehicle. I want people to look into this and see that the police be disrespecting people out here and threatening me to kill me and murder me. And then even asking me to open and pass my phone after they know what they did. This Needs To Stop Because It will go on and on and nobody won’t do nothing about it. I just want everybody to take a look and see If this were one of the police child, I’m sure they wouldn’t want nobody do that.”
The Force said that on Saturday, February 26, 2022, Crighton was stopped and requested to produce his driver’s licence and documents for the motorcycle that he was driving. He had none of the documents requested by the police in his possession at the time and also refused to take a breathalyzer test. As a result, Crighton was arrested and taken to the Bartica Police Station.
He was subsequently released and placed on self bail. His motorcycle was returned to him the same day. The documents requested were taken to the station while he was in custody.
Guyana Standard understands that Crighton returned to the Bartica Police Station this morning, Monday, February 28, 2022, where he made a report that he had been assaulted and verbally threatened by the police during the incident.
Consequently, he was escorted to the Bartica Hospital to be medically examined and a statement was taken from him.
