STATEMENT REGARDING MY BEATING AT THE HANDS OF A POLICE OFFICER
My name is Serno Augustine, I am 15 years old. I am an orphan as my mother died 4 years ago in Grand Turk. I lived in Grand Turk since I can remember and moved to Providenciales after my mother died.
Ms. Patricia Duff has helped me with this Statement as my English is not good but what it says is true to the best of my belief.
I have been told I should not have been questioned by the police without a responsible adult being there and I therefore object to anything I may have said, when I was questioned, being used against me. Regarding this statement, I wish to make it clear that I am making it only in connection with my mistreatment in police custody on 12 November 2005. I do not make it regarding the allegations in connection with the stolen car, which I deny.
On Saturday about 7 am I was sitting on the porch of the house where I live in Wheeland when the Police arrived. Officer Ford told me they wanted to see me at the Station, I asked him why, but he would not tell me. I went into the house to get my shoes. Samantha Parker, who looks after me, went to talk to Officer Ford and she then told me that he told her they wanted to ask me about a stolen car.
I said I didn't know anything about a stolen car.
As I walked into the Police Station I saw a skinny boy being taken from the offices on the right back to the cells; I recognised him as the person who had given me a ride on Wednesday night. I had seen him before at the electrical school in Five Cays. He lives in Five Cays.
Officer Ford asked me some questions from a form about if I was sick, or if I had a cut, or if I was crazy: I told him "no". Officer Ford then asked me if I had another name. I told him only Serno.
Officer Ford asked me about the car I'd been in on Wednesday night. I told him I had been helping at the theatre and was looking for a Jitney ride home. Some people stopped their car and gave me a ride.
Officer Ford asked me if I knew what colour was the car. I told him I did not know the colour because it was night, but that if I saw the inside of the car I would know it.
Officer Ford took me out of the Police Station into the Police Yard and showed me a white Toyota Corolla and I looked inside. I think it was the car, it had a red dash-board and a stick shift, it had plenty of clothes inside it. I told him it was the car I'd ridden home in on Wednesday night.
Officer Ford took me back into the Police Station. I tried to tell him I had been helping at the theatre, but I could not remember the name. I told him it was like the movies. I told him that was where I had been. He told me to sit on a chair next to a table. There was a big generator on the table.
I saw a boy in the black t-shirt sitting on another chair next to the table who was handcuffed to the generator.
The Officer in uniform whom I am told is Officer Robinson handcuffed me to the generator on the table. I asked him why, he said plenty people inside try to run out. I told him he did not need to do that as I was not planning on running away.
After a while I needed to go to the toilet, so Officer Robinson unlocked the hand cuffs and I went.
Ms. Duff came to the Police Station. We talked for a while about me telling the truth and helping the Police. I was cold and she got the officer to stop the a/c. She told me that she had to be there if they wanted to ask me anything because I was only 15. I told her I would miss basket-ball. She asked the Officer if she could take me to practice and bring me back later but he said no. She asked me if I had been handcuffed and I told her "yes". She talked to the officer about not handcuffing me. She asked me if I would run off and I said "no". She left and promised to come back.
They gave me some breakfast and a styrene cup full of coffee: but I could not eat anything.
Later Ms. Duff came again to the Police Station and went into the back offices with Officer Ford. After a while she came back and went into a room with a lady police officer. Then she asked me if I was all right and told me I would have to wait a while longer and she would come back again.
Another police man came. He was wearing a yellow T-shirt. On the front of it it had the design of children in a circle. He was carrying a long stick, it was about three feet long and it was made of wood and not painted.
He asked why I was inside. I said, "for nothing". He said I could not be there "for nothing". He asked why I was not handcuffed. Officer Robinson said they did not think it was necessary. He said "no, put it on" and he locked my wrist in the handcuffs.
He went in the back offices.
They were just bringing the boy in the black T-shirt back from being inside the offices.
The man with the yellow T-shirt said he had tried to tell the boys to stop stealing cars.
He said to the boy, I told you to stop thieving someone's car and as he spoke he took his stick and he jabbed it on the boys face. I saw him push it just under his lip above his chin.
He then jabbed me hard in the ribs with his stick on my right side. I stood up and cried out, "Oooo ! Watch it dude!"
He said, "You give me hard mouth," and he started beating me with the stick. He hit me all over my back and shoulders. He hit me plenty of times. And after he slapped me with his hand. You can ask anyone inside. His hand was open. He slapped me on my face and on the back of my head. He said I'd stolen a car and I said to him I did not do anything. He said how could they bring me inside for nothing.
When he hit me, the cup of coffee fell to the floor; he made me clean it up with a tissue.
When the man was hitting me there were some other officers present. I think there was the same black police officer who had been in the car with Officer Ford when they collected me that morning. There was also Officer Robinson and maybe someone else with a dark shirt and no hair. The black police officer said they were going to send me back off home. I think he meant to Haiti.
The boy in the black T-shirt was there watching too. Two other boys also saw me being beaten: one was the skinny boy.
Later the boy in the black T-shirt told me they had beat him too: they had punched him in the mouth.
I heard someone crying and puking and then I saw the skinny boy being taken outside by Police Officers, I heard them saying they were taking him to the Clinic because he had belly pains. The boy in the black T-shirt told me they had beat him bad.
Later about 1o'clock Ms. Duff came back to collect me.
As we drove off she noticed the marks of the handcuffs on my wrist and she asked me if they had handcuffed me again and I told her, "Yes and they beat me too." I told her how they beat me.
She took me to her house and photographed my wrist. A man came to look at my wrist and asked me some questions about where I had been hit and he looked at my face and my back and my ribs where I told him.
Ms. Duff took me to the theatre where I helped for a while. Then she took me back to her house and Ms. Duff recorded what I had to say on a tape recorder.
Then we went to the Government Clinic. A nurse checked me out and afterwards a doctor came and checked me out and asked me questions.
She said she could see where the marks were and I had a mark made by a blunt instrument.
When the doctor had finished I asked her about the other boy who the Police had brought to the clinic because he was sick to his stomach. She said that there was a 15 year old they were keeping over-night. Ms. Duff told her that he might have been beaten too. The doctor said she would check him over good. She said the Police had told her only to check his stomach.