Eric Thomas, 19, who resides with his grandmother at 99 Downer Street,Cheap Jerseys, Grove, East Bank Demerara, has alleged that he was placed in police custody for four days even though he had done no wrong.The young man who was accompanied by his mother said that the lawmen apprehended him on Monday evening while he was standing with a friend on a street in the said village.He claimed that while they were placing the handcuffs on him, one of the policemen stated that he had the appearance of a thief.They then handcuffed him and had him walk through the village in full view of everyone.As the officers approached the main road, they placed him into the tray of a police vehicle that was heavy tinted.During the entire ordeal, he was not informed about the circumstances of his arrest.“All the time I was asking them what I did wrong for them to arrest me, but they were not saying nothing.”The teen was then taken to the Diamond Police Station and placed into police custody. He was also denied a telephone call to inform his grandmother about his whereabouts.Eric’s mother told Kaieteur News that Wednesday last her son was placed on an ID parade for an armed robbery that the police alleged was committed on Sunday night.She lamented that although the victims failed to identify her son as one of the men who had robbed their family, the officers insisted that he placed him back in custody.“The victims told the police that my son was not one of the men who robbed them and they still keep him in there”.Eric was released from police custody late Thursday evening after his relatives had taken meals for him.The young man recalled that the four days he was placed in police custody would forever live on with him.The teenager was instructed to report to the said station yesterday morning.While at the station he claimed that one of the lawmen threatened him. “He told me that he is waiting for something to happen in the village to come for me and the next time he will come very ignorant.”He compared the cell conditions as that of a dumpsite. “I was made to sleep on the concrete floor with human faeces, knowing that I was innocent.I don’t make trouble with no one. I work very hard to earn a living and they treated me like a criminal” the visibly shaken teen explained.
