By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Chief Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
A MAN who was arrested - but then released - after an armed robbery of Quality Supermarkets on Tuesday claimed officers humiliated him, and he felt forced to drink sewer water to stay hydrated after suffering a panic attack while in custody.
Gino Smith, 45, said when police refused to let him make calls and ignored his plea for water, he accidentally broke a cell water pipe. He said to secure his release, one of his clients had to pay officers $270 to repair the pipe even though police concluded he had not committed the robbery.
His client, Victoria Allen, confirmed the payment to The Tribune yesterday.
Mr Smith alleged he was ridiculed and verbally abused while detained at the Cable Beach Police Station for a crime he did not commit.
“I started to have another panic attack, so I broke the pipe to drink the water, and so when I broke the pipe to drink the water, everyone come out and say oh, we’re going to get you some food right now,” he said.
“I said listen y’all trying to kill me in here, but I wasn’t going to let them kill me.
“The only reason why I’m out today talking to y’all is because my client was looking for me. They wasn’t going to let me out.”
According to news reports, Quality Supermarkets was robbed at gunpoint on Monday.
Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings told The Tribune that police questioned Mr Smith because he fit the description of the perpetrator.
She said officers had the right to do so, adding: “If we find you’re not the perpetrator we’re looking for, then you’ll be exonerated.”
“However, while you are in our custody, there’s a certain level of respect and behaviour that we expect from you as a citizen of this country while we execute our duties.” “Now his claims of a panic attack etcetera is far fetched for me from what I’m getting in the matter, but it remains under active investigation.”
Mr Smith, who owns a landscaping company, said he worked at a client’s home when the robbery happened.
He said he caught a ride with an acquaintance to get a spare key after accidentally locking his car keys in his truck.
He said during the ride, the pair saw a white hard hat and a white cap on the road, which they picked up and threw in the back of the truck.
He said after being dropped off at the round-about near Wendy’s, he returned to his client’s yard to resume work.
He said shortly afterwards, armed police officers approached and questioned him about his whereabouts and asked for details on the person with whom he was driving.
“I explained everything in detail to them and noted that he picked up the hats off the street,” he said. “One of the officers replied that that was the information he was looking for. He wanted to know where that happened and I directed him to the location.”
He thought helping the police would end his involvement in the matter. “But the next thing I know,” he added, “he pulled back in the yard and said you, let’s go, drop your tools. Pack up your truck and secure them and let’s go.”
“I said officer why am I going to the station? He said he’s giving me a chance to tell him who the guys were, but I said officer, I don’t know no guys.”
He said his confinement was traumatising because his cell had no windows, no toilet and only one ceiling light.
He said the poor, cramped conditions caused him to get disorientated and have a panic attack.
He said to make matters worse, police humiliated him by talking to him harshly and claiming he was “faking his attacks” after checking his pulse.
“I was ridiculed and verbally abused by many of the male police officers,” he said. “Attempts were made to attack me physically, but they were stopped. I became silent and started to agree with them and humbled myself.”
He said he wants the officers held accountable and has hired a lawyer.
Comments
mandela 1 month ago
Yes, get the lady lawyer who they fear, it cannot be that such treatment becomes the norm all because our E-average, very dumb, investigators can't do their jobs on brains alone and has to resort to illegal physical and mental means. Sue, Sue, Sue if you can, the government and the RBPF has no rights to abuse its citizens willy-nilly in the name of crime fighting.
ThisIsOurs 1 month ago
"Now his claims of a panic attack etcetera is far fetched for me from what I’m getting in the matter, but it remains under active investigation.”
This is very unprofessional for a spokesperson. You dont have time to decide if someone faking a panic attack or not. It's an emergency. And then to ultimately release the guy for clearly lack of evidence? Recall the guy in the US that the police sat on who kept saying he couldnt breathe? He died. The police are in prison.
He said to make matters worse, police humiliated him by talking to him harshly and claiming he was “faking his attacks” after checking his pulse.
Anyone remember the last police detainee who had bruises all over him, ended up having a heart attack and had to be rushed to the hospital ? The officer in charge claimed he didnt know what happened. Or the woman good son collected by police who disappeared off the earth?
Get a proper working cctv system and move away from torturing prisoners.
John 4 weeks, 1 day ago
So many young men have been under these brutal attacks of the police because of the Police’s lacy if training, lack of professionalism, lack of restraint and lack of accountability. But this young man got off easy. Some have come out of the grips of the police with broken arms or legs , fractured ribs, internal or head injuries and some still had charges put on them af and made to sign confessions after obviously not knowing anything about the crimes they were accused of. And had to spend years back and forth to courts to get cleared of the charges.
.
.BUT THE Majority of police officers on thr RBPF are hardworking and dedicated officers. They face a mammoth task of trying to keep the peace and law and order in this country. And in light of the current situation with crime, more resources need to be invested in police officers so they don’t have to resort to forced confessions or even unnecessary shootings on the streets. On the force it is usually the hand/me/down tactics of policing and investigation that are used. . .The national security recently announced that prison officers will receive training in Italy and hopefully if it is not already being done, police officers sent to Scotland Yard for training or even in Canada.
SP 3 weeks, 6 days ago
@ John - What criteria did you refer to arrive at the conclusion "BUT THE Majority of police officers on the RBPF are hardworking and dedicated officers"?
Among Bahamians with decades of interaction with the police, the general consensus is the police are the second biggest gangsters and thugs in the country only surpassed by politicians!
Trusting the police or politicians has never been a good idea.
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