NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Coalition of Independents (COI) Leader, Lincoln Bain said that he and members have filed several police complaints against officers that they felt acted inappropriately at a gathering last week Wednesday in front of the House of Assembly.
Bain says the course of action was what he feels any Bahamian should do when they feel troubled by the actions of police officers.
“We went to the Complaints and Corruptions Unit and filed a police complaint, actually, police complaints against several police officers.
“[…] we feel like what happened should never happen to Bahamians in this country and in a democracy.”
Assault and battery, injuries, damaged clothing, and unlawful detainment are on the list of things Bain said he has filed complaints on.
Bain and eight other individuals were arrested in Parliament Square during the incident on Wednesday, and charged in Magistrate’s Court the following day for various offences including, Unlawful Assembly, Obstructing Members of Parliament’s Access to the House of Assembly, Disorderly Behavior, and Assaulting a Police Officer.
The group all pleaded not guilty to those charges.
Bain told Eyewitness News that he feels that Prime Minister Philip Davis can relate to how he feels about the matter seeing that Davis, some years ago, expressed in a press statement that the justice system shouldn’t be used for political bidding, when former DNA Leader, Arinthia Komolafe was called in for questioning.
“If someone gets away with something now then, later it could be someone else. Arinthia Komolafe had to experience this, and now it’s us and so the same way we stood with them when they went through what they went through; we think that Bahamians should stand with us, its a breech of democracy.
“We just want democracy to finally reign in this country to where Bahamians could actually have a right and have a say, to where we can have a political voice without being victimized, without being bullied by police officers,” Bain said.
