Rivercess County – One victim of a recent brutality allegedly carried out by officers of the Police Support Unit in the sparsely populated county of Rivercess, has complained of severe pain in his head and body since he escaped death from the hands of some PSU forces assigned in the area.
Report by Willie N. okpah – [email protected]
Joe Garter said Police officers on Sunday night arrested and relentlessly flogged him, leaving two of his front teeth broken and inflicting on him severe wounds on grounds that he was one of those facilitating harmful traditional practice in the county.
The incident occurred at 11:PM local time in Darsaw Town when a renowned witchdoctor in the area only identified as “Photo”, was ordered arrested by Rivercess County Superintendent Matthew Daniels` for requesting two women who admitted to witchcraft activities to face traditional investigation.
The Superintendent reportedly resounded to citizens in the area that it was forbidden to subject the two women to such practice, a statement that sparked out serious commotion in the area.
Few people in the town allegedly burst out resisting the Superintendent’s order, thus prompting the Rivercess County vice Juror to order their arrest including Garter who claimed that he was not at the scene of the protest.
“I was in Yarkpah Town for my business money, $LD9, 500 when the entire situation was ongoing; I reached in the town before hearing about society case involving the superintendent”, Garter explained.
Some of those involved have been already taken to Cestos city as ordered by Superintendent Daniels.
Liberia National Police Support Unit allegedly brutalized some of those who resisted arrest but Victim Joe Garter told FrontPage Africa Wednesday that he was lately pick up by the security forces after a gentleman standing around scene pointed at him as one of those who obstructed Police operation at which time he had returned from normal business activities in Yarkpah Town to Darsaw Town, where the situation took place.
He said the PSU Officers used tear gas on him and began beating on him unmercifully for refusing to be taken to Cestos City, the county’s capital few hours before he managed to escape the torment into the bush for safety.
“They surrounded me and beat on me with baton and spray my eyes with tear gas, I could not see at all but I manage to run into the bush and was there up to 2AM before some of the town people found me and started rubbing my eyes with cassava leaf”, Garter opined.
Victim Garter further said his current condition has forced him to come to Monrovia for proper treatment because health services in Rivercess County cannot provide the needed medication for his already broken front teeth.
“Only pain tablets I have been taking and I cannot do anything now until I undergo treatment because I’m not able to bite piece of cassava, only “fufu”(a traditional Liberian meal) I can swallow”.
Garter has at the same time call for the timely intervention of government through the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Liberia Traditional Council into the matter.
Meanwhile, efforts to contact Superintendent Matthews did not materialized up to press time as his number remains off since 6PM Wednesday Afternoon.
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