Arresting police brutality?

Following yesterday’s report of a 17-year-old boy allegedly beaten by the Kotadeniyawa police, the topic of police brutality has once again made its way to the national conversation. However, this time around, there appears to be a marked contrast in the public’s desire to see an end to the menace once and for all, judging by the vociferous calls on social and mainstream media; protestations that can no longer be ignored. 

Enough is enough. While the gruesome and often illegal assault on hardened criminals is bad enough – justifiable though it may seem to some – the torture of innocent underage youths is where we as a nation ought to draw the line.

To say the incident in question was horrific would be an understatement. A young schoolboy who has yet to even sit for his GCE Advanced Levels had been taken into custody under suspicion of being involved in the tragic murder of five-year-old Seya Sadevmi and held for three days at the Kotadeniyawa police station, after which, according to media reports, he had been badly beaten, and, to add insult to injury, photographed in the nude. This is a harrowing experience for anyone to go through, let alone an innocent and impressionable young boy who, according to DNA reports, had nothing to do with the crime.

Meanwhile, another suspect taken into custody in connection with the murder was also reported to have been taken in blindfolded and transported in a van. A chilling reminder of what was, until not too long ago, almost the standard response to certain legal inconveniences. The suspect had said in a statement that he had been hung by a rope at the police station and beaten with a plastic pole, despite repeated denials of his involvement. 

Later, after producing the suspect in court and getting him remanded, they had continued to assault him, media reports quoted him as saying.

A tragic turn of events, no doubt, but one that must not be forgotten and written off as a one-off incident.  Whether this particular example was an exception to the rule or if these incidents of torture or forced confessions are the norm needs to be thoroughly looked into.

Last year, some police officers were reported to have assaulted a suspect in Minuwangoda with a pole at his residence while the victim’s mother collapsed and later died in hospital after witnessing her son being beaten; a youth in Dompe was killed in police custody and the public outcry resulted in a standoff between the police and residents.

The vision of the Sri Lankan Police force is: “Towards a peaceful environment, to live with confidence, without fear of crime and violence”. Its mission is “to uphold and enforce the law of the land, to preserve public order, prevent crime and terrorism with prejudice to none and equity to all”. 

It’s time the media, civil society and the general public came together to condemn these acts of brutality by a few unruly officers that threaten to tarnish the image of the entire police force and ensure that it lives up to its highbrow mission statement.