"Ok, you know plenty eh; you from LU"

My friend Saki Golafale, who blogs here, recently had a run-in with police in Monrovia. With his permission, I have pasted his story below, which he just posted to Facebook. I take two things away from this story:

1. Corruption still exists in Liberia.
2. Despite dealing with unfair state officials for years, if not decades, people who are willing to fight corruption legally still exist. I tend to think that the average Liberian has become passive and jaded in the face of inequality. If I was Liberian, I think I would be too. But stories like the one below show that not everyone fits into my unfair generalization.

At about 12 noon today, while riding a taxi to Barnesville Estate, north of Monrovia, to visit a friend, a police officer asked the driver to park off the road. After we (passengers & driver) had sat for about 10 minutes without being attended to by the policeman, I opened the door and asked the policeman as to what the problem was. He said, “none of your business. Sit in the car and leave this thing between the driver and myself.” Having heard the police officer, the drive quickly got off the car and asked, “whatin I do da you delaying me here. Plee tell me.” The police officer said, “You know, you do not have the red sticker right? Just give my buck ($100 LD) then you will go.” I na make any money yeh; I just comin from garage.” The driver said. The red sticker, according to the driver, is obtained from the Ministry of Transport.

As the conversation went on, a commercial bus arrived on the scene and was also parked. The driver quickly came down his vehicle and gave the police officer some money and away he went. Two other cars were stopped by the same police officer and similar illegal transaction went on.

After observing what was unfolding, I got totally annoyed and I asked the police officer as to whether his boss was aware of his unethical attitude towards innocent drivers and the our illegal detention by him . He aggressively ran towards me and said, “You! Be careful! Stop interfering into police operations or you will be locked in a cell. I was compensated by the drivers; I didn’t force them.” As the argument got heated between the both of us, I told him that extorting money from poor drivers is not part of the police code of ethics. Immediately, he became very angry with me, and fortunately for me, the other passengers got involved and expressed their dislikes against the police officer’s attitude. I knew I had gained some support, but to my utmost surprise, the driver stood mute, knowing that he’ll continuously meet the policeman which could create future problems for him if he had joined us in denouncing him.

After several minutes of delay and heated argument, the police officer charged me for disorderly conduct and that I should report to the Barnesville Police Depot. I did not hesitate. I got in the vehicle and asked the driver to drive to the police station. The policeman joined us in the vehicle. The taxi driver was hesitating thinking that he was the main target not knowing it was me (Saki).

Upon arrival at the police station, I was called to the charge of quarters and charged, without investigation, for disorderly conduct and for interfering in police operations. Before I could utter a word, my foot wear and my cell phone were taken away, and while in an effort to secure my belongings, one police officer slapped me twice in the face and repeatedly kicked me in my buttocks until I stopped talking at them. When the pains went away, I asked who had beaten on me and nobody took responsibility since I could not remember the person’s face. At this time, the driver and the other passengers had left long before I regained my consciousness. Apparently, they had given him (the policeman) some money to set them free. They betrayed me.

Later, I was asked by the then commander bearing identification number, 1682 to pay $ 300 LD and write a letter of apology before releasing me. I refused on grounds that I had done nothing wrong; the police who flogged me should be the one to apologize, I claimed. “Ok, you know plenty eh; you from LU (University of Liberia); you will be in cell here for three days and be sent to court.” I knew he was just intimidating me, so I agreed to be sent to court but not to be locked in a cell as my case, if real, had less magnitude. Surprisingly, a friend I had tutored at the University of Liberia was part of this gang of that inflicted pains on me. He never showed his face when he passed by, but I recognized him; he also betrayed me. He may have been giving the police some information about me.

After detaining me for several hours, a policewoman, with identification number 1307, asked me to write a statement of my case which I did. My clearly written statement included all that happened including promise to provide witnesses upon request. The police commander, after reading my statement, asked me to only write a letter of apology and be released since I believe he felt I could lead them into a big problem if the matter is pursued. I wrote the letter against my will all because I was tired being in the midst of untrained and criminally oriented elements called police officers.

Now, was it necessary to flog and detain me? Who could be wrong if we are to go to court? Are the police above the law? Is it a part of the police code of ethics to extort money from drivers or ask an accused person to give money to be released? These questions will be answered when I take this matter to the print and electronic media for the public to know how unprofessional some of our police are. I was smart enough to copy two of them ID numbers, and I’ll use those IDs to track them.

Old wine is really in new bottle!

[Update from Saki: Yesterday, I wrote a formal complaint to the Inspector General of the Liberia National Police, Hon. Beatrice M. S. Browne. After viewing my complaint, the case was transferred to the Professional Standard Division (PSD) for investigation. The two police officers whose ID numbers I indicated in the letter have been called upon to report to the police headquarters for investigation. The investigation starts tomorrow.]