37 police officers suspended

By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
Police have suspended 37 newly recruited police officers who were still on probabtion after laying charges against them for allegedly bullying new recruits at the Bomana Police Training College.
“They were also charged for disobeying my orders to stop when I caught them escaping from the new recruits’ barracks to hide in their transit barracks,” college commander Peter Philip said.
“They were so stubborn to come out of their barracks that I had to call in a Mobile Squad to forcefully evict them out to bring them before me.
“This is very unbecoming of pass-out officers.”
Philip said their charges would be dealt with by the internal affairs directorate and then the police commissioner would make a decision based on the outcome report from the Internal Affairs.
“Now they are been investigated and witnesses, including me, have already provided statements,” he said. “Each of them have got three charges and these charges are for disobeying the commander’s orders, disgraceful conduct and prejudicial conduct.”
Philip said the young officers let themselves down.
“We did not train them to become bullies and behave like terrorists when they had gone into new recruits’ barracks and forced them to do knuckle push-ups and use dirty languages on them. This is unbecoming of these offices. So discipline must be taken as deterrent measures against those recruits who are now in and those who will join later.
“They need to be good officers because they will go out and behave like that in public”. Philip said the 37 had been harassing the new intakes at the college. Philip said that on March 17, the new officers were verbally abused, and were forced to strip and put their clothes out in the rain. “Then they ordered them to do push-ups and forced them to do all sorts of exercises in the barracks,” he said. “They punched them and told them to be strong as it was the treatment they got,” he said.