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.