Garth Rattray | DMRA arrests may increase COVID-19 risk

P rologue: I am a huge fan and supporter of the Jamaican constabulary. If and when I criticise selected activities, it is my effort at being constructive, and my hope that corrective measures will be undertaken. The vast majority of our policemen and policewomen are dedicated, honest, hard-working, sacrificial individuals who want the best for every citizen. Many work long and difficult hours under trying conditions.

They follow the orders and directives of their superiors even when those orders and directives are sometimes impossible to carry out in the manner that they should be carried out. They do the best that they can with whatever they have. The administration sometimes overlooks or ignores the facilities needed for the proper and safe execution of police duties. Perhaps this is because of a lack of resources, but it could be because of a lack of proper forethought, planning and oversight.

The anecdote: One evening, after curfew hours began, a lawyer friend of mine was working late in order to complete a very important document that was needed the following day for a gentleman whose life hung in the balance. Lawyers are allowed exemption from curfew regulations under dire circumstances. This matter qualified as dire.

POLICE LIGHTS

As she exited the ground-floor elevator, she was surprised to see the unmistakable, flashing blue police lights. She found a crowd in the lobby and was curious about the cause of the hubbub. She walked past the gathering, but was stopped by a policeman as she descended the steps outside the building.

He told her that she was under arrest for attending a function (gathering) and for doing so after curfew hours. Being a lawyer, she realised the gravity of her situation and tried to explain that she was not at the gathering, that she is a lawyer, and that she was working late on an important matter. She further explained that she was on the second floor and was obviously not attired for any social gathering.

Nonetheless, the policeman told her to tell it to the judge, seized her ID and instructed her to sit on the nearby sidewalk. She complied with all his commands. Eventually, she was told to drive to a specified police station. She did as she was told and was corralled into a small, air-conditioned room with closed windows and a few chairs.

Seated in the room was a senior officer, whose mask only hugged his chin. His nose and mouth were exposed. She found a chair, sat, and was soon joined by a crowd of people (strangers) who packed the small, closed, air-conditioned room. So much for masks and physical distancing. She had no way of remonstrating or refusing to be exposed to the superspreader condition.

She, along with some of the other people who were arrested, was removed to another small, air-conditioned room, where a policewoman sat waiting. The policewoman had no mask on at all and, when my friend asked about that, she said that it fell on the ground and was dirty, so she could not wear it. Unfortunately, this policewoman was doing the biometrics documentation, including forcing the accused to remove their masks for pictures, right in front of her unmasked face! She was once again exposed to the possibility of contracting COVID-19.

At the end of it, she was released with a court date – .that may be a next saga.

Epilogue: I often notice that the folks being arrested for flouting the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA) are being herded into the back of trucks, along with many others – some or many of whom are not wearing masks. It’s as if the need to apprehend offenders for putting others at risk supersedes making sure that they do not put others at risk when apprehended! In other words, the real danger in breaching the DRMA may not be what you do, it may be how you are arrested.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.