Acting Police Commissioner Rusiate Tudravu has warned Police officers to uphold the law and not to abuse their authority.

This follows a claim of alleged Police assault reported at the Nausori Police Station over the weekend.

“Police officers know that if an allegation of Police brutality is proven to be true, then they will be processed through our internal disciplinary measures and charged and produced in court,” Acting Police commissioner Tudravu said.

“We cannot effectively win over public support if we are seen to be breaching the same laws we are asking everyone to uphold, and there’s no place in this institution for officers who abuse their authority.”

A team has been directed to conduct investigations.

The Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Commission team visited the victim yesterday.

It is believed that the victim is a nurse and had posted on social media what happened in the alleged incident.

The allegation

The post allegedly stated: “Walking in town on a usual day off, met by a Police officer in a motorcycle who was speeding into a busy and narrow lane with cars already queued.

“The Police Officer almost bumped into a car that was coming from the opposite direction trying to exit the busy street .He was just a few seconds away from causing an accident.

“Everyone was looking at the Officer knowing that he was wrong in the first place.

“I happened to also be crossing that same street and I corrected the officer telling him that he was in a busy, narrow street, with cars queued and with some parked on the side, he needed to slow down. There was not enough space for him to go through.

“The officer on the motorcycle, since he couldn’t pass through turned around and went back .I was then summoned by two uniformed Police officers who were a bit further up and they wanted to discuss the earlier incident.

“They had asked for us to go together to the Police Station. I asked what offence I had committed, I told them that I had only corrected the motorcycle officer.

“They then reminded me that I had done nothing wrong and they just wanted to discuss the matter at the Police Station.

“This was going on all in front of Rajendra’s Supermarket with the general public eyes all on us.

“While we were still discussing the earlier incident in front of a Police Van an unknown civilian who came out of nowhere threw a punch and next I knew I was bleeding from my nose and mouth and lying inside the vehicle.

“There was blood all over me and I just tried my best to press my nose to stop the bleeding.

“I was caught off guard with all this. While in the van I was given another punch to reinforce the earlier one. We went to Nausori Police Station, still bleeding and trying very hard to stop it, there was blood all over me.

“There was discussion about the issue at the Police Bure and I was reminded by the uniformed police officers that they would have preferred if I had called the motorcycle officer to the side and told him that he was wrong rather than correcting him in Public.

“I thought to myself anybody in the right state of mind would have just said things there and then and not called the officer to the side to correct him, plus if there was an accident there I would have ended up assisting.

“We sorted out the case with the two uniformed officers and they then told me that the civilian was a Police officer as well.

“They then asked if we could discuss the punching incident and I refused on the basis that he wasn’t in uniform and that he got involved in the discussions without knowing the truth behind the whole incident.

“Report Lodged at Nausori Police Station and I only hope the officer gets charged.

“I have been reliably informed that he works at the PSRU unit at the Police Mobile.

“I will await Justice to take its process for now.”

Edited by Ivamere Nataro

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