By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

POLICE are investigating an incident allegedly involving a high-ranking male police officer in plain clothes, accused of punching a woman in the eye - leaving her unable to see through her left eye.

Officer-in-charge of inspection and review and president of the court of inquiry tribunal Chief Superintendent Marino Hinds confirmed the investigation on the TV programme Beyond the Headlines that aired on Tuesday night.

Also on the show was officer-in-charge of complaints and corruption Chief Superintendent Marlin Fulford who said the report was made Monday afternoon and he has already assigned an investigator to investigate the matter.

“Even though our policy gives us between six months to a year to investigate a matter you know when matters of interest remake every effort to make sure that a speedy resolution is brought to it and so that matter was assigned to a superintendent and the investigation started immediately as early as this morning (Tuesday),” Mr Fulford explained.

 Latique Perpall is pursuing legal action of the punch. which, it is claimed resulted in a detached retina. It is not determined yet if she has been permanently blinded in that eye.

She identified the officer to The Tribune as an assistant superintendent of police.

Speaking on the matter, Mr Hinds said: “The information received by us are allegations and the commissioner of police is aware of the complaint made by the young lady and here to say that we are actively investigating this matter and so wherever the chips fall we have a purpose and we have constitutional mandate to bring equity and justice to the Bahamian people.”

The 29-year-old said her ordeal started on Friday when the officer made a lewd comment to her.

“I was walking coming from ordering my food and someone came up behind me and told me ‘Your p---- fat’.”

“I was like mister who the ---- you is and he was like ‘oh carry your fat p----’. So I start to argue back with him. I tell him ‘Oh no carry your little d---’ so he got mad because people through the corner was laughing.” 

The two had an exchange of words after the comment. Before she went to her yard, a police truck pulled up in front of her yard.

“He point at me and say her lock her up. He say carry her to my station. They carry me to The Grove. When I went there, they start to book me.

“He said ‘ain’t I tell y’all to take her to my station’... bear in mind I still do not know who this man is. I still didn’t even know he was an officer at the time.”

 “I was in handcuff. Before I got carried… he yuck me at the police truck, punch me in my eye while I was in handcuff. Then put me back in there and ram my head against the police truck door.”

Some activists have condemned the high-ranking officer alleged actions. 

Pressed if the officer is on administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing, Mr Hinds responded: “This information is in its preliminary stages. As far as I’m aware this alleged incident was just reported to have happened on Friday and so what is important to us at this stage is to get all of the facts.”

“Once we gather all of facts, we see all of the surveillance videos, we speak to all of the witnesses, and we gather the physical evidence if there is any. We then present the information, when I say we I’m taking about the complaints and corruption and the investigative team, to the commissioner and the senior executive leadership team and then they would make administrative decisions.”

Both Mr Fulford and Mr Hinds gave his thoughts whether this behaviour, if it is true, is befitting of a senior officer.

Mr Fulford argued: “It’s definitely not good behaviour for a senior officer, a junior officer, no officer and so if the complaint once investigated and the evidence suggests that the officer is responsible the recommendation would be the officer is dealt with accordingly.”

Meanwhile, Mr Hinds had tougher stance on the topic.

“I cannot fathom a senior officer making such an assertion. Once an officer becomes gazetted which that that officer has attained the rank of an ASP, which is an assistant superintendent of police, there’s a certain decorum that is expected of him or her and I know that this is the real world that we live in but I have not seen this kind of behavior from the officers that I have encountered. I will not say that we are perfect but I hasten to say that this is not a behavior that is demonstrated on a regular basis by my colleagues.”