The Tribune

By MORGAN ADDERLEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

madderley@tribunemedia.net

RIGHTS Bahamas chairperson Mona Agenor yesterday said she feels deeply violated and humiliated after she and family members were arrested in a joint operation with police and immigration officers.

Ms Agenor is calling for immigration officers to wear body cameras, insisting officers abused their power when they allegedly stormed into her home, threatened her and her family, and beat her nephews on Wednesday.

However, Chief Superintendent Bruce Arnett, of the Carmichael Police Station, yesterday insisted the officers' actions were lawful.

"In executing our duties, we always find ourselves within the law," Mr Arnett said.

Mr Arnett did not respond to claims levelled by the family, and the human rights organisation that suggest Ms Agenor was targeted for her activism.

"What did we do? They came in my house, they didn't search anything, they didn't ask me any questions," she said.

"I felt so violated. I felt like they just took me, stripped me bald naked and put me on Bay Street whipping me. That's how I felt. My children crying, they were afraid. I was crying."

"What I do? Am I a criminal?" she asked.

Ms Agenor, a 37-year-old Bahamian, was arrested by police and immigration officers around 5am Wednesday.

She and others were released from the Carmichael Road Police Station sometime after 10 that night.

The adults' charges included threats of harm, resisting arrest and obscene language, harbouring, and obstruction, according to Ms Agenor.

They each paid $1000 in police bail each before they were released.

Their attorney, Martin Lundy, confirmed the group is set to be arraigned on August 14.

A 15-year-old boy, however, remains in police custody and is facing charges of making threats of death. The minor will need to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

In an interview with The Tribune yesterday, Ms Agenor insisted she was not given due process, claiming no officer advised her of her rights nor was a warrant presented at the time of the arrest.

She also claimed no official asked her for her status during the ordeal.

"All of the officers were inside my front room. No one asked if I was a Haitian, a Bahamian, a Jamaican, a Cuban. No one asked me for no kind of status or nothing. They didn't go search my rooms, they didn't search my kitchen," Ms Agenor said.

As the turmoil unfolded around her, she noted her children were sobbing - the sounds of which broke her heart.

Ultimately, Ms Agenor, her 18-year-old daughter, Eldeanna, her sister Jacintha, her three nephews and her three minor children were arrested.

Ms Agenor's minor children were released after roughly four hours in police custody.

"They were speaking a few months ago about police getting body cam. Immigration officers need body cam," Ms Agenor continued. "Some of them are like animals on that force. They taking this thing for a game…They taking this for fun. Like people life don't matter. Or once you have a French last name your life don't matter."

"They taking advantage and they're abusing their powers."

She also confirmed the family will be pursuing legal action regarding this matter, as previously noted by a Rights Bahamas statement released yesterday.

"Legal action will be taken against them. Because (the) abuse, the severe beating- I wouldn't wish that on no one. And no officer or no minister could tell me we acted out of line."

In February 2018, the Department of Immigration announced the trial acquisition of a suite of surveillance equipment to bolster its enforcement services - including four body-camera system.

Immigration Director Clarance Russell said at the time the equipment, once put to use, will not only ensure the safety of officers and those with whom they interact, but will also ensure the accountability and integrity of the department.

Officials have not directly addressed the incident; however, the Immigration Department said it apprehended 28 Haitian nationals in a joint operation called 'Rising Sun' with Southwestern Division police and K-9 units on Wednesday.

The release read: "We will continue to conduct our duties without fear, favour or malice in a civil, humane and fair manner consistent with both local and international laws.

It continued: "The Department will not tolerate the blatant and deliberate assault on our Officers while executing their duties or continued breaches of the Statute Laws of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas."