Arthington, Montserrado County – A family blaming the Liberia National Police of causing the brutal death of their relative has now hired a lawyer and is preparing to go to court after calling off the man’s funeral, which was due on Saturday, June 16.
Report by Alpha Daffae Senkpeni, [email protected]
The family is claiming that Eric Hill, 42, who died in a police cell in Arthington, Montserrado County was brutalized by police officers.
The police have recently denied the claims but had earlier committed to helping the family give the deceased a befitting burial.
While the police held negotiation with certain members of the family, several other members rejected the mitigation and are now demanding an investigation into the incident, claiming that burying the remains would shatter any chances of knowing the truth.
The Low Down
The 42-year-old man was arrested by the police on the afternoon of Tuesday, May 29 in Arthington – outside Monrovia – but the family later saw his corpse the next day at the Redemption Hospital.
Hill was accused of stealing and drinking a lady’s cane juice. He too, a distiller of cane juice, plies the trade to cater to his family of five children and a fiancée.
Although he denied the allegation, he was arrested and reportedly manhandled while in the police custody, family sources told FrontPage Africa
William Norris, a maternal younger sibling of the deceased, said that the family was prevented from seeing him when he was taken in custody.
“When he was taken to the police station, he landed in the cell and was beaten which led to severe injury on his head and his eyes were burst,” Norris told FPA at his residence in Stephen Tolbert Estate.
“They didn’t go back to his home to inform his wife and children but they loaded his body on a pickup and transported it to Redemption Hospital to deposit the corpse in the morgue. That was a wicked thing to do.”
Norris said when the hospital rejected the corpse since the police did not provide detail about the cause of death, the police than opted to inform the family about the situation.
The family also demanded an explanation for the cause of death, and the police officers at the local station claimed that Hill had died as a result of intoxication.
At the hospital, Norris said when he opted to take photographs of the corpse which had bruises all over it; the police prevented him and later demanded that he delete all the photos he had already taken.
It was an apparent move to destroy the evidence he was trying to gather to prove that his brother was brutalized, he claims.
Norris said Police Commissioner Miekee Gray led a delegation to meet the family and then admitted that the death was the police’s fault.
“They (Police) said that they are responsible because the officers assigned in the area locked the man in the cell and left the station,” Norris said.
“They bagged and said they are responsible for the incident, and they later took the body and deposited it at the Abraham Roberts Funeral Home but since then we have not received one call from them.”
Police Denies Allegation
When FrontPage Africa contacted Police spokesman Moses Carter via phone he denied that Hill was tortured before his death.
“The man was not well and felt off in the cell and he was rushed to hospital (and) upon reaching to the hospital he died… the man died a natural death,” Carter said, failing to give details about the cause of death that is usually mentioned in a medical report.
The Police spokesman also refuted claims that top officers of the LNP had admitted to the family that the death was due to the action of the police.
At the same, Commissioner Miekee Gray denied Norris’ allegation, although he admitted that the police was settling the issue with the family.
“I don’t even know who’s the family member that you are talking about?” Commissioner Gray said of Norris’ allegations when he spoke to FPA via cell phone.
“The family members that we’re having problem with we’re handling it and we don’t know him (Norris) until he can come to the police.”
While the police have comprehensively denied admitting to Hill’s death, authority had earlier assured the family of their support by helping with the embalmment charges, casket and clothing for the burial.
A division of family holding talks with the police had also requested US$4,000 to organize the funeral.
“We are engaging the stepfather and the head of the family and we are now standing by to help bury the fellow that died and at the same time conducting investigation for what went wrong,” said Col. Kollie, chief investigator of the LNP.
“He died in police custody and if we find out that people (police officers) are culpable, we will prosecute them.”
Misrepresentation of the Family
A segment of the family holding talks with the police is headed by a lady who claims to be a cousin of the deceased.
She’s Joyce Frank Forte, also a resident of Arthington. Forte told FPA in a telephone chat on June 8 that the family has no issue with the police concerning the death of Hill.
She said that preparation with the police was “going smoothly for his internment of my cousin on Saturday”, June 16.
But the new twist in events has seen the burial blocked by the deceased maternal sister, who flew from Ghana last week to ascertain the cause of death.
Laurine Warner told FPA that Madam Forte, who claims to be heading the family, is an employee of the Judiciary and that she is trying to cover-up for the police without regards for the entire family.
Warner says Madam Forte has since traveled out of the country, leaving the corpse of their brother in the funeral home without proper arrangements that would benefit the children and spouse of the deceased.
“She’s our mother’s extended cousin, but if somebody claims to be your family they should seek your interest,” she said, adding that her next step is to sue the police since they are refusing to take responsibility.
“They (police) are stressing on burying him, which means, this will destroy evidence and then they will turn their back on the family after that.”
“I want all those involved in my brother death to be brought to justice and I want my nieces and the grandchildren to be taken care of. The police have been doing this to other people. Something has to start from somewhere, the police have to stop, people cannot go to the police and they are brutalized and killed.”