Driver complains traffic cop requested bribe
Reports matter to police
Stabroek News
May 2, 2003
A man who gave a traffic cop $1,000 to avoid being charged with a minor offence has made a complaint against the rank to the Commissioner of Police, Floyd McDonald.
Kris Kooblall says in his letter to the Commissioner that at 10 am on Wednesday, the rank had accused him of not coming to a stop at the junction of North Road and Avenue of the Republic.
Kooblall told the officer that he had indeed stopped but said that the officer had felt differently. At this point, Kooblall said, the officer requested his driver's licence and told him to drive to Brickdam where he would be charged with dangerous driving, placed on $3,000 bail and would have to appear in court on May 2.
Kooblall said that while on the way he tried again to explain that he did not disobey the stop sign, but realised that this was going nowhere and pleaded for the rank to give him a chance.
He said that while in the car, the officer asked what he (Kooblall) could do. His reply was that he had $1,000 in his wallet. The letter states that this amount was handed over to the officer who then returned the driver's licence and left the vehicle at the corner of Brickdam and High Streets.
Police Public Relations Officer Assistant Superintendent David Ramnarine told Stabroek News that such an allegation against a member of the Guyana Police Force should not be allowed to go unnoticed. "While the complainant from all indications compounded the matter by allegedly offering the sum of money as an inducement to forego prosecution, he must have the willingness to approach a senior police officer at Brickdam or make a complaint to the Office of Professional Responsibility at Police Headquarters."
He added that once Kooblall put the incident in writing, a number of courses of action would follow. Invariably, he noted, it may very well lead to the identifying of the 'bad egg'.
In his letter, Kooblall stated that many of his business colleagues had expressed disgust and dismay at the conduct of some traffic officers and he called the incident a violation of his civic and constitutional rights. (Johann Earle)
