BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A Constable of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force will soon be facing a city magistrate for striking his superior, negligently interrupting the passage of other vehicles and failing to comply with the lawful directions of a police officer.
Charged with the offences is Constable Royston Isaac of Phillip’s Village, who was arrested, confined to the Basseterre Barracks and subsequently placed on Station bail.
A police press release stated that the arrest took place following an incident at Branch Street, Newtown on Wednesday (Sept. 7).
According to eyewitness account, sometime between 4:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the day in question, Isaac had parked a passenger bus (HA 271) beyond the restricted line on Branch Street awaiting east-bound commuters.
“His was the first in a long line of busses waiting for passengers, but he was parked above the restricted yellow line. A car driven by police Sergeant pulled up alongside the bus and I believe he was cautioning Isaac for violating the traffic law.
“Isaac drove away the bus from Branch Street, turned through Johnson Street and returned to the right side of the parking lot to proceed on his journey. When the Sergeant saw him drove off, he went behind him but did not turn into Johnson Street, he instead drove by the round-about and returned to the junction of Branch Street and Wellington Road waiting for Isaac.
“When Isaac returned to Branch, he was on the right side of the road and the sergeant positioned his vehicle in front of the bus. He then put his hand through the window and attempted to take the key out of the ignition and Isaac stopped him from doing so. The Sergeant then boxed Isaac and they started wrangling. However, the Sergeant got the better of Isaac because he was restrained by the seat belt he was wearing.
“The Sergeant then grabbed Isaac’s shirt and had him in a choke-hold when a man came up and tried to pry his fingers loose. Suddenly a police patrol came up and they shackled Isaac and took him to Basseterre Police Station and another officer drove Isaac’s bus to the police parking lot on Cayon Street,” one eyewitness said.
Another eyewitness stated that the incident should not have escalated to that level.
“The Sergeant knew that Country Boy is in the police force, and if he had violated the traffic law and refused to adhere to the his cautionary words, the Sergeant should have placed him on a report and dealt with the matter internally instead of them having to wrangle in plain view of the public. This does not auger well for the police force, whose members are supposed to be the example setters of the law,” he said.
A passenger bus operator claimed that most, if not all, of the drivers regularly violate the law on Branch Street.
“Most of us are guilty of violating the traffic law on Branch Street. You see, in the past, the restricted yellow line was 15 feet from Wellington Street and there were not so many buses plying that route. The police have however pushed the line back to approximately 40 feet and we have a first in line system at that park.
But while the first bus is waiting to be filled, some unscrupulous drivers park their buses on the right lane pretending that they are about to turn onto Wellington Road and steal the passengers.
“So, in order to combat this situation, we would go beyond the restricted area to get what rightfully belongs to us. However, on many occasions police officers would see those unscrupulous drivers breaking the law and do nothing.
I would therefore like to suggest that the police revert the yellow line to its original position so as to avoid incidents such as the one with Country Boy and the Sergeant.”
A senior officer told SKNVibes that the Constable knew the law and he should have complied with the Sergeant's instructions.
He also explained that the Constable should not have been moonlighting because members of the force are always "on call" unless they are on vacation, and that permission has to be sought before engaging in a second job.
