Police Brutality in Maryland (Liberia): What They all say - Minister of Justice, Police & INCHRC,

 

On June 29, 2012, I was mercilessly flogged and brutalized by The Liberia National Police Emergency Response Unit notoriously referred to as “ERU.”

That very day, the Media picked up the happenings in Monrovia, threw it on the radio and it all became national news.

Due to the severity of the brutal act, I was admitted at The J. J. Dossen Memorial Hospital in Harper City. Because the medical complication was troubling, I was referred to The J. F. K. Memorial Hospital in Monrovia (Liberia) for further medical checkup. I was airlifted by UNMIL chopper and arrived in Monrovia July 4. July 5, I was admitted at J. F. K.

On July 4, 2012, The Concerned Citizens Action Committee of Maryland with a numerical strength of 150 persons authored a letter of complaint and deepest concerns of my beating and the extrajudicial killings along with police brutality in the County. The letter was hand-delivered to the Minister of Justice, Cllr. Christiana Tarr. Up to the moment I opine, the minister of Justice, Cllr. Christiana Tarr, refused to reply and/or address the matter.

On July 8, 2012, Traditional Leaders and citizens comprising of all Paramount, Town chiefs, town mayors, speakers, women, youth and the elderly of Maryland County authored a letter of complaint and expressed their deepest concerns over the police flogging of me and the ongoing police brutality and extrajudicial killings in the County. This letter was also hand-delivered to the Minister of Justice, Cllr. Christiana Tarr. As was with the first letter from the Concern Citizens Action Committee, Minister Tarr refused to reply and/or address the matter.

On July 31, 2012, my legal counsel authored an official complaint on my behalf to the Minister of Justice, Cllr. Christian Tarr informing her of the matter and requesting an independent investigation in the matter. Again, Cllr. Tarr refused to reply and/or address the matter also.

On August 17, 2012, the senior senator of Maryland County, Hon. John Akel Ballout, authored a letter to the Minister of Justice, Cllr. Christiana Tarr. In his letter, he forwarded my complaint that I sent to his office. He asked Cllr. Tarr to investigate the matter and forward to him her findings. As was in all other cases mentioned above, Cllr. Tarr refused to respond to Sen. Ballout and/or address the matter.

On August 29, 2012, Representative Dr. Bhofal Chambers invited the Minister of Justice, Cllr. Tarr into his office. During the meeting, Dr. Chambers encouraged her to delve into the matter speedily and provide him with her findings. Again, when Cllr. Tarr walked out of Dr. Chambers’ office, she never replied and/or cared to address the matter.

On August 24, 2012, after I pressured her through my BedellSpeaks SMS column and she finally SMS me. She wrote, “Your matter has been forwarded to Independent Human Rights Commission for investigation.” She did not provide me any additional information to trace my case nor give the address of the Commission. But all the same, I found the Commission’s office. When I approached the Commission, it categorically denied receipt of any complaint or case from the Minster of Justice pertaining to me.

Did the Minister of Justice lie?

Every effort to reach Minister Tarr is like going to Heaven through the eye of a needle. Either she is ashamed of her blatant disrespect to authority and her bad attitude towards citizens or she is totally confused how to deal with the issue since she is not in speaking terms with the Police Chief, Christopher Massaquoi.

As for the police, its spokesperson, George Bardue, spoke on UNMIL Radio where he admitted that the police was wrong to take orders from a magistrate. According to him, the ERU only takes orders from the Minister of Justice or Police Director and nobody. Even though the police admits to wrongdoing, but it continues elude justice.

Police Director Massaquoi refuses to answer his phone to address the issue. From all indications, the case is stalling because both Police Director and the Minister of Justice are not on talking terms. They keep speech from each other. Inside source tells us that the Minister of Justice does not like Chris Massaquoi as police director. The opposite is also true.

The Case will continue whether or not Cllr. Tarr, Minister of Justice, continues to run from justice! Either she will resign or be dismissed by President Sirleaf!

Either way, the Struggle continues! JUSTICE WILL OVERCOME!

I am Thomas G. Bedell working and speaking on the ground in Liberia.

Police Chief Massaquoi & Attorney General Christiana Tarr Must Resign!

Which “crime” shall be punished or not in current day Liberia is left with the police’s discretion; which laws shall be enforced, where and at which time, and especially who is forced to respect the law, is decided by the police. In effect, the police, the right arm of the Authorities, abuse its power on a daily basis and exercise its violence with total impunity.
 

The police continuously and everywhere in Liberia violate the very laws that they are supposed to uphold.

 

The Emergency Response Unit notoriously known as ERU spys, double-deals, hustles, represses, despises, pursues, arrests, imprisons, harasses, and beats up; it inflicts indignity, it tortures and kills without compunction.

Its primary targets are workers, poor, homeless, immigrants, and persons with irregular status, the marginalized, students, youths, activists, gender-based and feminist activists and people who question and don’t accept the legitimacy of the authorities.

 

In response to the widening gap between the workers and management of the Cavalla Rubber Corporation in Pleebo/Sodokeh District and the poor, the deepening of poverty and the general deterioration of living conditions, the Liberian government invests in ERU force to do what it takes to maintain order and social peace in Maryland County.

Latest killings:

Date: 2011
Victim: Gartoe Doe
Location: Pleebo City, Maryland County, R. L.

Date: May, 2012
Victim: Harrison Geeply
Location: New Kru Town, Harper City, Maryland County, R.L.

Latest brutality:

Date: 2011
Victim: Wah-Kla Neufville, Jnr. - he was beaten into coma because he and a girlfriend of ERU had misunderstanding
Location: Middlesex, Harper City, Maryland County

Date: 2011
Victim: Anthony Harmon, Lord Mayor of Pleebo City was brutalized for asking the ERU a simple question, "Why are you beating on my people?"
Location: Pleebo City, Maryland County

Date: 2011
Victim: Anthony Wesley was brutalized and placed under gun point for asking that his property stolen by the ERU be returned
Location: Fishtown, Harper, Maryland County

Date: 2011
Victim: Dumu Hne, he was brutalized and robbed by ERU

Date: June 29, 2012
Victim: Thomas G. Bedell - was brutalized by well-armed ERU officers on the orders of Magistrate Wesley Korkor on grounds there was a contempt charge which he voluntarily appeared in court to answer to. He was robbed and tortured.

The unabated killings and attacks against activists in Maryland have revealed a completely inadequate response by the government to prevent further deaths and to remedy this worsening situation. the police's responsibility in investigating these cases has fallen completely short of what is required, resulting in the perpetrators, in most cases, having yet to be prosecuted in a court of law. this lack of an effective police investigation into killings and violence against activists and the Government seeming unwillingness to properly intervene are the greatest obstacles in prosecuting the perpetrators and bring an end to these deaths.

Worse of all, the Attorney General (Christiana Tarr) and the Police Chief (Chris Massaquoi) do not speak. They are not on speaking term. As a result, they are not attending to the security matters of the Liberian people and state.

If both individuals are not fired or resign from their current posts, our National Security will remain under threat. And our citizens and residents will continue to be killed by the police without any judicial review.

I am Thomas G. Bedell working and speaking on the ground in Liberia!