By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport

Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

AFTER being arrested, questioned and later released by police after four days in custody, Jovan Nixon has lost his job and is still facing difficulty finding employment elsewhere because of a wanted poster that was issued for his arrest.

Mr Nixon, 22, said officers came to his place of employment in Port Lucaya on June 29 and arrested him. He was led away in handcuffs and was humiliated by the entire ordeal.

“I worked at a restaurant where a lot of tourists come to eat and they handcuffed me and took me away, and people were just looking at me,” he told The Tribune.

Mr Nixon claims that police made a mistake when they released a wanted poster of him on June 30 for matters of housebreaking and stealing in Abaco. Without a job, he says he is no longer able to support himself and his three-year-old daughter. Mr Nixon admits that while he has had a troubled past, he has turned his life around and denies he committed the crimes he is being accused of in Abaco.

He said that he had worked on a farm in Abaco before coming to Grand Bahama. “I was able to find a job here so that I could save some money up for a surgery that I need and to help take care of daughter who is in Abaco,” he said.

Mr Nixon said after he was arrested he was flown to Abaco on June 30. He claims that he was not allowed to make a call and that officers threatened and brutalised him in custody. “I was told to sit on the ground and when I asked why, the officer hit me in the head with a phone book, and they were also threatening to shoot me in the head and in the mouth,” he claimed.

“The officers told me they had me on camera; I knew I was innocent and I told them ‘then show me’,” he recalled. “I kept telling them I was innocent and needed to get back to my job that I just got in Freeport.”

Mr Nixon was finally released after four days and asked a senior officer whether the police would purchase a ticket for his return to Freeport. He claims that the inspector apologised to him for the inconvenience and told him there was nothing he could do to help him get back to Grand Bahama. “I had to find the money ($97) to pay for the ticket back to Freeport,” he said.

When he returned to Freeport, Mr Nixon went to Police Headquarters and requested a meeting with Senior Assistant Commissioner Emrick Seymour concerning a refund for his ticket and to tell him of his ordeal.

“They would not let me see him, but I spoke with him (Mr Seymour) on the phone, and Supt Clarence Reckley called me and told me that they were looking into my matter and would help me get a job and get my money back.”

Mr Nixon said he was reimbursed the money for his ticket, but said that a request for a letter from police concerning his release was not given. “A wanted poster was issued for my arrest, but no charges were brought against me, and now I have no job, no place to live and no income and I need help,” he said.

Mr Nixon was also concerned that a wanted poster of him is still hanging at the Eight Mile Rock Police Station.

The Tribune spoke with Supt Reckley, who said although Nixon was released, he is still a suspect and the matter is still under active investigation. “Jovan Nixon was a suspect who was taken in questioned and released pending further investigations. The matter is still under active investigations. He was arrested and taken to Abaco, questioned and later released pending further investigations,” Supt Reckley said.

“I saw the story on ZNS where he alleges that he lost his job. I explained that to him today when he came to see me that the police do not give persons letters so they can get their job back. He has been at my office for the past two or three weeks and I tried to assist him in every way I could, but police don’t give letters because his matter is still actively being investigated.”

When asked about claims of brutality, Supt Reckley said he advised Mr Nixon that any complaints he had against the police must be made to the Complaints Unit. “When I spoke to officers in Abaco and I was informed that there was no complaints made there,” he said.

When asked about the wanted poster, Supt Reckley said once a person is arrested the wanted poster is taken down.

Mr Reckely said the police release wanted posters of suspects and when they are arrested to the media, but information is not sent out saying that a suspect was released.

“That is not a practice … once a suspect is arrested, questioned and interviewed, and if there is not sufficient evidence to charge them, they are released pending further investigations,” he said.