Still no action taken against TCC officers

Bjorn Burke, Staff Reporter

While no action has yet been taken against two Tourism Courtesy Corps (TCC) officers implicated in an incident of apparent excessive use of force, Marksman Limited personnel have said they are looking into the video making its rounds on several social networking websites.


In the three-minute-long tape, two TCC officers (often referred to as 'tourist police'), deployed in Ocho Rios, St Ann, are seen wrestling with a woman who is resisting arrest. The male officer, while attempting to handcuff the woman sprawled on her back, is seen hitting the woman in her face, causing it to bleed. Curious onlookers commenting on the incident fired off their comments.


"Him nah nuh heart, man!" a woman shouted. "Look pon di woman face!" another stated in disbelief.


The female officer is seen trying to assist in restraining the woman, while conferring with her colleague to "nuh lick im inna im face again", perceptibly taking issue with the way in which he sought to contain the woman.


wept bitterly


As the woman went on biting and resisting, a crowd descended, shooing away the male officer who had pinned her down.


As the video came to an end, the howling woman could be seen on her feet as she wept bitterly with a swollen face, and with her white blouse now dishevelled, and covered with blood.


The female officer defended her colleague stating: "Why unu never see when she go up inna im face!? She is the worst offender out here, it better unu gwaan!"


The reasons for the TCC officers' attempts to detain the unidentified woman are unclear.


Tourism Courtesy Corps manager, Major Michael Goulbourne, told THE STAR that while he has not seen the tape personally, investigations into the matter are ongoing.


"I think this is a matter you probably want to speak to our legal team on, because I don't think that video depicts exactly what happened. The legal team has been dealing with that matter, and I will not offer any comment," he explained. "There are always four sides to a story...what I heard is that it does not show the entire view of what's happening. And that person is a prevalent person, in terms of committing offences."



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