Ethnic profiling by the RCIPS
‘Disgusted Resident’ writes: Recently, there were major headlines in the US about a 14-year-old boy who took a clock to school and how he was arrested and handcuffed because the teacher thought it was a bomb. As a result, the chief of police made an appearance on CNN, and city officials and politicians all made public apologies while showing support for the boy in what was clearly a case of ethnic/racial profiling. Recently, there was a story involving two Jamaican nationals who were publicly arrested in Governor’s Square by armed police officers with the assistance of the police helicopter.
The police refused to comment on the arrest and now I’m finding out that it is for good reason, as it was truly a shameful occurrence for our island.
The facts of the incident are:
Two Jamaican nationals were driving in a car, one is a visitor (only been here for a couple weeks) and the other is a resident with a work permit. They went to the Jungle bar, changed their minds and decided to go to Calico Jacks instead, when they got to Calico Jacks, it began drizzling and so they decided they would go somewhere else, they were driving down West Bay road when suddenly sirens went off and the cops pulled them over.
There were no high speed pursuits or resistance to arrest whatsoever, the driver pulled over and suddenly the car was surrounded by cops pointing guns into their faces and ordering them to get out while the air support unit hovered overhead.
As they got out and asked why they were being stopped and what this is all about, a lady was filming the entire incident on her cellphone, that lady later turned out to be a news reporter who then made a phone call to the news station for a camera crew to be sent to the location.
The cops called for another unit to transport the “suspects” yet, the Cayman27 camera crew made it to the location and started filming before the other police unit even got there.
The entire time, the two guys kept asking, what is this about, what did we do, the official response from the police was, “we can’t tell you”.
The two guys were handcuffed, had their pictures all over the 6:00 pm news, their car seized, and was transported to central police station. When they got there, their personal belongings were taken, the cops asked for the passwords to their phones (which was willingly given) and they were locked in a cell for hours.
They were then presented with forms asking if they wished to contact the Jamaican consulate or a lawyer with the no box already ticked. They refused to sign and insisted that they be allowed to contact the consulate and an attorney.
After they contacted an attorney, he arrived, spoke to them about what happened, went back to his office, came back about 30 minutes later and told them they were free to go as the police had no basis for arresting them, let alone charging them or holding them.
The lawyer then advised that the police claim to have arrested them due to “suspicious behaviour”, i.e. these two guys, one of which was a tourist, was bar hopping on West Bay road in broad daylight in a Honda Civic.
The guys were released but told by the police that they had to keep their cellphones and examine it for evidence. They kept their cellphones until 12 noon the following day (clearly fishing for something to justify this illegal deprivation of someone’s liberty and freedom of movement). The phone was then handed over along with the car which was searched for drugs, guns and everything else, but nothing found.
No apologies were issued, no public declaration of innocence was made and the one who was a visitor left back to his home country of Jamaica on the flight this morning September 19th, as previously scheduled.
Now tell me this, if it had been two blond hair blue eyed Europeans bar hopping on Seven Mile Beach in the middle of the afternoon, would they have been pulled over in a busy shopping center, helicopter hovering and armed police officers pointing guns in their faces?
It’s a rhetorical question because I think most of you would respond with a resounding NO.
However, this is the type of treatment that is increasingly metted out to those who are considered under privileged, to those whom it is felt have no rights in this country. It is two dirty looking Jamaicans in a beat up Honda Civic, what does it matter?
I am personally sick of this and the manner in which this along with so many other issues are constantly swept under the rug. We see it in the justice system with the perceived selective prosecution of individuals based on their background and where they are from.
Should justice not be blind, should it not matter if a person is black, white, rich, poor, from East End or from Russia, are we not all entitled to equal and fair treatment in this country?
The visitor who was arrested is a teacher in Jamaica who has been in the teaching profession for well over a decade. Friends and family were all sent the Cayman27 news story showing him in handcuffs with armed police officers standing around him. And for what? just because of how he and his cousin looked, that’s all it came down to, ethnic profiling. The police had no other basis for this stop other than how these men looked and that to me is very sad and very appalling.
I call on the commissioner of police to make a public statement about this wrongful arrest and to issue a public apology to these two young men. I ask him to carry out sensitivity training for his officers on ethnic profiling and to reprimand those involved for failure to use proper judgment in this case. I also call on the residents of these Islands to speak out about the increasing injustice that is being witnessed in our legal system and demand fair treatment by law enforcement in these Islands.
These guys had no criminal records, and no prior history with police. They had their car seized, their phones confiscated, their freedom deprived and faced public humiliation, all without cause.
Is this what we’ve come to, are we now living in a police state where it is guilty until proven innocent depending on what you look like?
I say shame on you RCIPS! You are supposed to be better than this. I expected better than this from you and I hope that you will do the right thing and make a public statement so that people will not make up their own stories about why these two men were stopped and they will be able to continue with their lives without this public humiliation hanging over their heads and for them to have to constantly be explaining to people why this happened to them.
White americans are targeted all the time also. I have been here for years when guests come they get tickets all the time especially for parking. and then the locals see sucker on their faces and beg them a little dollar god forbid they leave their cars unlocked it gets rummaged thru every time I tell my guests to be careful they don’t realize its not the cayman of yesterday .and don’t get me started about how new white expats are profiled they are huge targets
That same day the task force was in west bay blocking the road . Why did they do that? Did they arrest anyone ? Were they Jamaicans? They had about 6 men that I could see around one house. Any one know?
I don’t recall the last time a white, blonde. blue eye man commit a violent crime here on the island. I do read at all times black young males, driving certain types of cars, involved in violent crimes, like every week. so is not racial profiling, not even close, is just the way it is. also, keep in mind that most of the island population is black/mixed.
if i were a policeman any person that fits the description given by witness of all crimes here will be stopped, check the descriptions…
To be fair to the RCIP, a lot depends on if, and what information was called in to 911 that led to this armed response. Someone, possibly a civillian, may have made a report that indicated that these unfortunate guys were possibly armed, were behaving very suspiciously, etc. and an appropriate response to investigate was initiated by the RCIP.
The RCIP tactical approach is textbook Standard Operating Procedure, and if anything errs on the side of caution to ensure that no one is harmed whether RCIP or civillian, and this approach may alarm some persons, but is mandated when there is a suspected threat existing. It’s all about safety, and the public need to be aware of this, and cut the RCIP some slack here.
This could have happened to anyone, Jamaican, Caymanian, or anyone. It all depends on what was called in to 911 re the matter. So let’s not be too focused on ethnicity here.
My only comment is, Jamaican teachers take vacation any time of the
Year.
Lack of leadership, Take a survey of all Caymanians who is married to Jamaican nationals with children who are still together , why ! its there culture by most but not all to do this for benefits or opportunist in Cayman. This is contributing huge number of children impacting the schools system with behavior’s no leadership at home why ? broken families. Do not try to peruse who I am take that time to do this survey and clean up this problem.
Ask your leaders to enforce the laws and start to investigate how many of there cases are heard make your check why majority of police officers is JAMAICANS, in the PRISON DEPT,COURTS and the list goes on these are the areas for our government to be concern, The saying is your my people you will never be charge Caymanians go to jail, To say they are of our culture is hiding from the truth culture is about we the people of Caymanian Am so sorry for my local women perhaps they should look to UK for husbands just saying not only are they respected you just might get away if you broke the laws have no charges brought against you children be protected and have respectable fathers. Just Saying.
I heard they tried to bribe the bartender 100 bucks at jungle bar to get some free drinks.
My understanding is that there were a number of crimes committed: being in possession of an offensive wife and walking on the cracks in the pavement. They are as guilty as Winston Kodogo.
Where are most of the police force on Grand Cayman from? Maybe they have an idea what to seriously look for to stop crimes from happening. Prevention is better than cure, even if it happens to me. Be more vigilant my RCIPS!! Respect for all your hard work!!!
So true! If the majority of residents, including status holders, work permit holders and visitors are from Jamaica, a jurisdiction known for its high crime rate it’s not surprising that Jamaicans SHOULD have highest statistics.
BUT wait, have you ever seen officers stop Jamaicans riding with a machette and questions them or worse arrest them for carrying an offensive weapon?? It happens to Caymanian men all the time.
I have heard of numerous incidents where police officers gave their ‘fellow Jamaicans’ a break for traffic violations whereas Caymanians with even less violations (i.e only registration coupon vs insurance not current, or Caymanian pulling up on no parking zone to allow passenger to enter vehicle while Jamaicans PARK to talk on phone on same no parking area).
I am not surprised that any arrest or enforcement of the law against Jamaicans (or any expat) is seen as such a violation but no one checks at what’s happening to Caymanians.
Cayman police do NOT drive around with loaded firearms and a helicopter overhead looking for someone to pull over. The Armed Response Unit, or whatever it is they call themselves, is not something that you see in action very often. I would suspect that a certain amount of planning went into the operation. They may have pulled the two guys over based on false information they were given about them, or they may have pulled over the car because it was similar looking to the car they expected someone else to be in, but you have to be crazy or watching too much overseas news to believe this was a case of racial profiling.
Which as I said earlier begs the question what were these two people doing that aroused so much suspicion from the police that they felt it necessary to call in the armed police and the copter? That’s a whole lot of expensive resources so they better have good reason to use them thereby spending public money.
Unfortunately the Jacans have racked up a negative name here and so many times they’re rightly or not the first accused next to the Caymanian. Because of our history with Jamaica but our love of the USA many times we jump to the wrong conclusion. We scrutinize the Jacan police record but it is a fact they can be bought and so Enforcement had to go to Jamaica to set up where those accepted here can be purchased but we readily accept every so-called diploma issued from up North (UCCI). The Jacans assist the Caymanians with the illegal drug and gun trade but we don’t scrutinize the loads of items bought in USA (remember the guns in fridge) yet every day those items are cleared fr USA! We distrust the “black” Jacan and watch them with a keen eye whilst the blue-eyed European swipes $300K and departs! We see the “white” attorney getting bail (twice) for an accident with severe injury to the victim pedestrian because we presume he’s of the blond hair blue eyed European descent! We see the Caymanian lined up on the road side getting ticketed but the white guy in the silver Audi just flew past about 6 cars in morning traffic on the bypass but the radar wasn’t working then? We all know of the drunks on Sth Ch Street with the vehicles parked on yellow lines but that never warrants a cop’s attention or towing away of vehicles but the Caymanian with a two-month expired vehicle licence gets sent to Court. We never see officers conducting radr duties along South Sound Rd excepton weekd day mornings but never weekends? Why? Because they may actually catch the residents along South Snd Rd and that can’t happen! Unfortunately there’s a bit of truth in the ViewPoint…
Profiling works.
Tell me about, blonde and green eyed at a session down swamp or Rockets at 2am and see what happens when the police pull up……
I remember one time me and some friends were heading to Next Level one Monday night.. As we were heading there someone was turning in to Queen’s Court on West Bay Road and the person that was driving overtook them while they were turning and by doing so we ended up in the middle lane a bit.. So you know there we are driving.. And I’m not sure if anyone remembers but the police use to have this undercover Lumina.. It was dark green I think??? Maybe even blue.. Anyways.. We pulled in to the parking lot at Next Level and as we parked and got out of the car the Lumina pulled up right behind us with the lights flashing.. So at this point we are all looking at each other like “WTF?!?!” So all 4 doors open up and 4 officials got out of the car.. All of them had assault rifles in hand.. Yo! When I say all 4, I mean even to the driver got out with a rifle in hand! So of course being young we all put our hands up in fear.. So at this point now we are all looking at the driver thinking “what the h*ll have you been up to???” So they all came and started to search us.. At this point none of us are saying anything.. So now the driver I guess gets some courage and he says.. “Sir? Why are you doing this??” The man replied.. “Did you know you are not suppose to overtake in the turning lane??” So at this point I guess I grew a pair and said.. “So all 4 of you have assault rifles pointed at us because we overtook someone?!?!?” Worst thing I could do.. Aye.. They searched me so hard they made me take off my shoes and socks and one of them literally took his fingers and searched between my toes! LOL! Aye! I mean they dug the car up! Searching the inside, the motor, and even to the gas tank! The driver was a big fisher man so he had some fishing equipment in his trunk.. In his tool pan of course he had a fishing knife.. A knife that you could see had been used for years.. Rust even to some fish scales still on the blade.. After they found that.. They took all of our id’s asked where we lived and took all of our numbers.. Then only to say.. “You guys get out of my face and go about your business!” When something like that happens what do you do??? Police look out for police.. We all know that.. So who do I call to report something like that to?? I see this story and I want to say the only difference with this was it happened and other people could see.. Police in Cayman have been doing stuff like this for YEARS! One of my friends became a police at one point and I know for a fact police will go to someone’s house and say they smell “weed” just so they can invite themselves in to search.. Police in Cayman are very dirty but it just so happens that people don’t speak out about it.. I mean lets keep it real.. Does anyone out there believe that random people stole guns and drugs from the police station??? Or we just that naïve to believe that BS??? Lets also keep in mind that recently we found out that some of the police we are hiring are rapes and murders.. The RICP has gone to the dogs and has not earned my respect.. Their way of fighting crime is to hand out speeding tickets! Bigger waste of money than the Turtle Farm!
4 man headin’ to Next Level on a Monday night bobo? You must have been really BORED! Gettin’ held up by Police was probably more exciting than the empty nightclub you were about to face.
Monday nights were a thing at Next Level one time. I remember those days.
$10 all-you-can-drink.
But… They all look alike…
Something don’t add up with your story. You are making the claim that they were being profiled because of their nationality. How how did these police officers know that these men were Jamaicans??? You have Caymanians that look like they are from Jamaica.
Unless you’re saying they were profiled for the color of their skin. Then this is not really a Jamaican thing. Isn’t it?
And for it to be a black thing would rather raise the question as to why the two officers pointing their guns at the car are themselves black. Its not really a colour thing either. And for it to be plain old police harassment rather raises the questions of why these guys and not thousands of other people driving around in beat up cars and visiting bars, to say nothing of the level of resources committed by the police. A chopper costs thousands of dollars an hour to fly, and yet we are to believe that the police used it for a simple pull over based on suspicious behaviour – the same police that routinely ignore clearly un-roadworthy vehicles with obviously illegal window tints every day of the week.
I got a ticket last month and I am white. The officer was black. I did not think he pulled me over because of my colour. Probably because of my heavy foot. Race baiting is shameful.
I can’t see the connection between ethnic profiling here. 80% of the males in Cayman look just like this.
Remember….there are three sides to every story!!! It seems that you are telling your friends’ side. Wait until you learn the FACTS behind the RCIPS’ actions on that particular incident!!!
That was my older brother and yes I am caymanian and he’s Jamaican. But trust me when I tell you , when you hear what they were detained for, you are gonna shake your head and get angry at rcips.
I notice you spell Caymanian with a common c but use a capital J for Jamaican. tell us why, not an error is it!
Maybe the RCIPS suspected these 2 Jamaican guys of stealing $300,000.00 from our most vulnerable citizens?
We all know how seriously they regard those crimes … irrespective of the profile of the suspect.
Wait … never mind.
-Who
The writer failed to understand one thing about caymankind. As long as Jamaicans are the victims Caymanians will not give a sh*t. Had these been two black Americans they would be singing a different tune. God forbid USCIS Border control had anymore reason to bar Caymanians from Outback and Chillis.
Persecution complex at work there. Get that chip off your shoulder.
I am a black American Man and I have been travelling to Cayman with my wife about twice a year for the past 10 Years, during that time we have been stopped by the police twice on Old Robin Road in Northside once we were told was for erratic driving which was never explained as to what it was I did, I just figured it must have been because I was driving slow as I still have a problem adjusting to the left side driving so I tend to be a slow poke. Another was because I was told we were speeding, no ticket was issued but the officer warned me that he could have given me a $450 ticket. Again, I am kind of a slow poke when I drive so I know I wasn’t speeding. In addition to this I had two cops cars pull up on me while I was checking out my land which had just recently been filled. They told me that I couldn’t park there and as I explained that it was my land and I was parked where the driveway was to be on the plans. Even after showing them our passports, NJ and Cayman Drivers Licenses along with the approved plans for the property they still held us there standing at the edge for the road where passing vehicles could see us clearly while they searched the car and all our belongings.
We’ve also been stopped in Georgetown, South Sound and had the police come up on us at Barefoot beach asking us what we were doing there
My point is it’s not just about race, it’s about the color of your skin and it’s not just in Cayman. I have been dealing with this all my life in the US. The biggest difference in Cayman is that the ones profiling us have the same skin color for the most part, which took me by surprise.
I’m sure you’re an upstanding US citizen and racial/ethnic profiling has negatively, however I generally resent blanket statements because no one wants to have the uncomfortable conversation about the elephant in the room.. perhaps this is part of the reason that racial profiling does in fact exists (and will continue to exist despite all PC efforts made by politicians) in the USA? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistics_of_incarcerated_African-American_males
I’m a proud Caymanian and I resent your remarks. We Caymanians are generally very compassionate towards Jamaicans and this incident is unfortunate and shameful. It’s a black eye for Cayman and the Police need to do better. As someone who was also profiled, I feel for the two men who were embarrassed and humiliated for absolutely no reason. If they were guilty, the police could still have handled this more discretely – no need for the police chopper circling above.
If a black eye were considered a good thing, would it be called a black eye?
That’s just the pot calling the kettle black.
‘Proud Caymanian’, ‘Very compassionate towards Jamaicans’. Really, then why do you house them in sub standard accommodation, pay them disgustingly low wages, employ them to clean up after your lazy asses and refer to them by the ‘N’ word?
Jamaicans on this island are treated no better than indentured slaves, and they are treated like it because Caymanians believe that they are superior to them.
This isn’t about colour, it’s about an attitude and a culture that believes its own BS.
I think you will find that those who treat Jamaicans worst on this Island are in fact Jamaican employers who have gained Caymanian status. True story.
A teacher in Jam, on vacation in the middle of September, LOL. You same to know a lot about something the RCIP have (your words) have not commented on. Maybe you are not excited about the crack down but I assure you all decent citizens of these Islands are demanding for the law breakers to be caught.
I am confused by this viewpoint. Is the author saying there was profiling because those guys are Jamaicans (if so, how would the cops have known that just by sight), or was there profiling because they are black (if so, the fact that they are Jamaicans is irrelevant).
It seems to me the author of this viewpoint is desperately trying to stir the pot!
Once we have heard the full story (ie both sides) we can make up our minds.
In the meantime, I am glad this happened and it is splashed all over the news. This should send a clear message that anyone can be pulled over at any moment and hopefully will be a deterrent to those who decide it is ok to invade and burglarize homes when hardworking people are at their jobs!!
“The facts of the incident are:”…what you mean is: “My personal perspective on the incident based on only getting information from the arrested guys is…”. Seriously…you think the police heli was out there just because the guys were black? Probably best to tone down the outrage until you have some kind of clue what is going on from BOTH sides.
“[RCIPS]…make a public statement so that people will not make up their own stories about why these two men were stopped”…people like YOU, you mean?!
Oh no wait, I forgot; ill-informed outrage is COOL. Carry on…
Wow! They actually stopped some Jamaicans? The things you speak of frequently happens to Caymanians, who usually are subject to threats and very disrespectful abuse and or unwarranted violence to affect such arrest. Then there is the “Complaint process” which is totally and utterly invalid and not even lawful or bound in the law. Whatever you do, don’t ever try to make a complaint against a UK Officer because reciprocity is a real bitch and you will find that a victimization operation will quickly turn or transform you into an accused or worse, a non entity with absolutely no credibility whatsoever.
#Caymankind mi seh
There is nothing Caymanian about the RCIPS. That is the problem.
Before you even say it, there’s not much English about them either. God knows what happens when they get on the plane and leave the UK because what comes out in Cayman is certainly not anything near representative of the British police force, and the same can be said about the service, particularly the training received by cadets – nothing English about that and they don’t get anywhere near the same intensive training.
Yes, speaking of the British nationals serving in the RCIPS, I am still hopping mad about the insolent manner I was spoken to by some moron in a uniform at the AL Thompson roundabout. The road towards Parkers had been blocked for some reason and I was stopped and asked where I was headed. When I said “to the airport” this oaf responded, brimming with disrespect, “Not down here you’re not”. This is the same moronic behaviour I remember observing from the police growing up in the U.K. Pathetic. However, a while later I observed a police car on two occasions being driven into oncoming traffic on the Harquail, a one lane each way road which I travelled daily, by a copper who looked very U.K. (strange haircut) – the twit was in a left hand drive car leaning over to get a better view, unbelievably. Totally reckless driving, endangering everyone. What the heck, did he image his heavy-duty (side-mounted) police car radiator was going to save him from the front of my Silverado 1500 in a 90 mph combined speed front impact??? So I wrote a letter to the Caymanian Compass (pre-Americanization!) complaining, they published it, and never saw this silly bloke at it again. We need to complain a lot more, I reckon.
As it goes, a few ruin in for everyone else……..
RCIPS know who to do these kind of things to. Until people educate them selves on their rights as residents/caymanians the RCIPS will always take advantage of these type of situations. The two Jamaicans should sue the RCIPS/CIG! When they have to be accountable for their actions then they will go the extra mile follow procedure, no matter what RCIPS’s intentions were there is a way to go about things to prevent being sued and obviously they have not learned their lesson. Maybe a FOI request on how many cases against the RCIPS have been settled out of court/ in court would put things into perspective to the public as to how horrible of a job the RCIPS do because of uneducated officers that do not know or understand the law.
I would love to get in contact with ALL AND ANYONE who has ever been profiled by RCIP ! Leave your email ( if you are not afraid of being profiled) and I PROMISE to get in contact with you. This EXACT thing happened to my son and never was resolved. RCIP just covered their own dirt when my son didn’t die due to their actions against him. I am angry , frustrated and if we ALL stand together something will come out of this. I look forward to anyone who is willing to go this long road with me!!!! AND MY SON!!! AND MY FAMILY!!!!
If stopped by the police illegally or legally you must get his badge no. hois precint (district hes working for) and his name if he refuses then there should be a supervisor called out to the scene of the stop. If thats not good enough then Report the officer to theRCIP Internal Superintendant office hope Cayman has one, if not Ezzard this one is for you too to spearhead.
Guess we are going to be told now that in order to make an omelet, we have to break a few eggs, just as long as those eggs are brown and came from the neighbor’s hen. Shaking my head
This would appear on the face of your narrative, questionable behaviour by RCIPS. They should at least be made to give reasoning for spending so much public and police resources on these apparently innocent suspects. I wonder what was their reason for suspecting them, and calling in the gun squad and the helicopter in the first place? What justified such drastic behaviour as opposed to simple stop and question?
If this story is true then whoever ordered the arrest of these individuals should not have a job with the RCIPS this morning.
As a young Caymanian, I commend you for this viewpoint. However the RCIPS are profiling our own CAYMANIANS also! Pulling us over, searching us without reason and detaining us for hours even days without any basis for their actions.
And expats through association with profiled Caymanians too!
I was working one day when 3 Jamaican men came in to my workplace, looked around the entire shop, and then bought 3 pairs of gloves. My work place was broken into 4 days later, and at the break and entry point where the burglars got in through, there were strands of fabric material, after examining the strands and examining a set of the gloves exactly like what the 3 Jamaicans bought, they looked like the exact same material. Because the location did not have CCTV and I can not paint an exact picture of any of the mentioned individuals, my memory of them serves absolute zilch. However, I do remember how they came in and what they bought during business hours, The same happened at my place of residence, by gardeners that someone in my street witnessed near to my house just before the incident took place, they were also Jamaican. Would I be guilty of racial profiling if I said perhaps these two Jamaicans that were held at gunpoint could possibly have been scoping out their next burglary victims? If these recent individuals were bar hoping, why could they not be arrested for drinking and driving? Or did they visit all of the bars that you mentioned, and did not manage to have time for a drink yet, because they were busy scoping? If you believe their story, just because its what they said, you are quite possibly a very big idiot.
What is probably interesting is that most of the police officers who accosted these men are former Jamaican police officers themselves, who have since joined the RCIPS.
I don’t buy this BS that it was racial profiling at all.
I am content to trust our Jamaican policemens’ judgement in these instances………
Sorry, I side with the police. I would rather them make multiple wrong arrests if need be. Obviously someone called them and were concerned. It would be a different story if the police had been called on, didn’t stop them, and the men turned out to be armed criminals. Then everyone would be up in arms about that. I’m not saying it was right to keep them as long as they did, and maybe police conduct was not spot on but at the end of the day the guys were released. Safety first. Go RCIP
Where do you thing most of the items stolen are going !!!!!!!!!!
Shout profiling, so I can be left alone and carry on with my dirt.
I would rather the Police make a few mistake, rather to do nothing. Intensify your stop and search RCIPS, we have to weed those people out, it do not matter where they are from.
So you say they were arrested for driving while Jamaican? Surely there must be something else to this since there had to have been hundreds of other black people driving around at the same time, including other Jamaicans.
On the facts presented, this sounds very disturbing, but I wonder why the poster played the “race card”? I had a look at the Cayman 27 footage, and the cops with guns that I saw were black. Also, if those hypothetical “blond hair blue eyed Europeans” also had Eastern European accents, I am not so sure the question would be rhetorical.
I wouldn’t be so quick to defend that Arab boy. His teacher thought it looked like something besides a clock so he told him to hide it and not show it to anyone. That was probably a trial run. The next time, they will take a bomb and the school won’t do anything about it and get blown up just like the 9/11 bombers. If it was me I would have arrested him and his parents because they should have made sure that he didn’t do something like that.
As for the Jamaicans, my cousin and I had that conversation last night. It’s not racist, it’s just that the bad Jamaicans outweigh the good ones and they have quite a reputation here. Unless, you are one of the Jamaicans and/or you are with them 24/7, I wouldn’t be so quick to defend them.
So because the little boy is Arab, that automatically means he’s a terrorist who will make bombs?!
Your racism and Islamaphobia is showing.
You start off with the 14 year old, so called clock, did you see what was in the case? didn’t look like a clock to me, what would you rather, she call the cops and a kids gets arrested by mistake or she do nothing and it was a bomb and the school goes up!!
Did you see what was in the case? An electrical circuit board which is found in electrical equipment of all shapes and sizes. You obviously have no clue what the difference between an explosive and simple electronics is.
Sorry you wasted your time writing this article but we don’t have blonde hair blue eyed Europeans committing robberies around here .
So I guess you have a 100% success rate at detection and prosecution for robberies then? One of the problems why Jamaicans and Caymanians are always mentioned in crimes is because that’s where the cops are always looking.
One simply has to be at the airport one day and see the difference between a plan landing from Miami and one coming in from Jamaica. The Jamaican plane gets the sniffer dog treatment and full hand and Xray searches while the american plane gets the caymankind smile, then you wonder why it is seldom the blond hair blue eyed European in the cuffs on TV, the cops are not going to find something in a place they are not looking, it is that simple.
The ganja and cocaine comes mainly from Jamaica, not Miami, so the Jamaica flight needs a sniffer dog. Simple.
So explain why my wife get checked almost every time we go on vacation. (well perhaps its because she is white with blond hair and brown eyes).
Or because they can’t believe she’s with you
When you get off your high horse, you might want to think about the fact that their conduct was entirely consistent with drug dealers on a round and that Jamaicans or those of Jamaican descent are linked to much of the drug dealing, gun violence and murders on Grand Cayman. If they do not like what happened there are many flights leaving daily, don’t let the door of the Honda Civic hit your backside on the way out.
First, you have no idea what information the Police were acting upon. And you will never know because the Police have a duty of care to whoever provided that information.
Secondly the level of force used indicates the level of threat anticipated. Again this would be linked to the information received.
Third the Press taking pictures is part of the society in which we live. The embarrassment caused is understandable as is the concern that Police Officers shown may feel they, and potentially their families, have been exposed to a risk due to this style of journalism.
Your point about the type of vehicle and the nationality/ ethnicity of the persons stopped by the Police actually says more about you and your views with regard to profiling.
Now, I have little doubt that you will dismiss this post as another colonial lackey supporting the system against the people and that is your right, however don’t forget it is the bravery and dedication of those cops that allow you to live in this society with the ability to express your views.
They are the ones who leave for work each day and who’s family’s have to deal with the thought that they might just get that knock at the door with bad news.
They are the ones who tolerate the abuse of those who don’t like the attention the Officers pay them.
I don’t see anywhere in your viewpoint any criticism of the press who chose to broadcast those picture. Do you feel this was a responsible thing to do? If there had been a reason to hold any type of identification procedure that would have been impaired by this.
The freedom of the press which you so obviously value has its benefits and perils. Getting the balance right is never easy. But let’s not try to blame people who have no control over what is distributed to the wider public for what is circulated.
This is very concerning if this is how our police service is now operating and using resources. I hope they never try this stunt with me
Thank you police officers we know you are doing our best. You have a thankless job but many of us support you.
I guarantee you wouldn’t be thanking them if this happened to your son or brother.
I don’t know about anyone else but I told my sons that if they get in trouble with the police and they’re guilty and this mother will know, they won’t see me visiting them in jail.
Before you jump to criticize the police or accuse them of ethnic policing you better check on the two individuals and ensure that they are as clean as you say. Your words may come back to haunt you when the truth comes out!
I do not believe for one minute that these men were pulled over for their looks. I have never heard of anyone ever being pulled over here in the Caymans and approached by police with guns drawn without reason. Is there more to this story that we haven’t heard? I think so.
How many blond blue eye Europeans are doing the crime
Many of us support the police but we don’t support BS. The writer is absolutely correct…if this were persons of other ethnicity they would not have probably been stopped let alone arrested.
Over the last few years (and most recently) we have seen the incompetence of the law enforcement officials especially the RCIP and far too often what many call injustice amongst certain class / color. Justice must be color blind…it must not seem to be done, it must be done…with EVERYONE who breaks the law.
I agree with disgusted resident. An explanation is due from the RCIPS.
Just one detail about the kid with the clock-did you see the clock? Does it look like a clock to you? Would he be allowed to board a plane with that device? That kid knew what he was doing. Too many innocent children slaughtered in the states, one can’t be too cautious.
As a former teacher in the US I can tell you with certainty that if a child brings something in that appears to be a security issue we would contact the police regardless of his/her ethnicity/religious beliefs.
Also, fwiw, I’m literally a blond haired, blue eyed white girl and I get the tests/pat-downs regularly at the airport, and the drug-sniffing dog on the way back, whether I arrive from Cuba, Jamaica, or Miami. I have been yelled at for not having put a lip balm in my ziplock baggie instead of my purse. And no one in security, customs, or immigration has EVER given me a smile. Usually the expression is akin to “why are you bothering me?” I personally haven’t noticed long lines of Jamaicans being removed for pat-downs with me, but I’ll pay more attention next time.
Are you kidding me?? As the writer states “These guys had no criminal records, and no prior history with police. They had their car seized, their phones confiscated, their freedom deprived and faced public humiliation, all without cause.” What was the reasonable cause for this? Or are we simply to accept that the police can pull you down whenever and wherever they feel? I agree its a “thankless job” but it’s also a job that gives them quite a bit of authority. We should be concerned they don’t abuse this authority as quite clearly, if this Viewpoint is correct, they most certainly did in this case. Any comments from the Minister of Tourism? If this had been a white Anglo-Saxon visitor, would the blogs be now filled with horrible stories about Cayman and how we treat our visitors? Would it even have gone down the way it did if they were as the writer submits ” two blond hair blue eyed Europeans bar hopping “. This arrest again raises serious questions about the quality of policing in the Cayman Islands. #StraightTalk
Lack of previous convictions or clean criminal records doesn’t mean that there was no evidence for the particular incident