Police officer dragged me like a dog – grieving father

Chester ‘Cake-O’ Joe, the father of this country’s second road fatality for 2016, has described the actions of one police officer at the scene of his son’s deadly crash “as extremely unprofessional and lacking proper training.”

Chester lost his twin son, Jamal ‘Twin’ Joe on Saturday, February 20, at around {{more}}11:10 p.m., when the youngster drove over an embankment at Peruvian Vale, sustaining injuries, to which he later succumbed.

Explaining the situation with the police officer, Joe said that he left his Choice Village, Biabou home after his wife summoned him and told him that their son, whom they fondly called “Twin one,” was involved in a deadly crash.

He said that when he arrived on the scene of the accident, he saw his son’s body covered with a white sheet at the side of the road and overcome with grief, he approached the body, lifted the sheet off his son’s face and looked at his youngest child who had blood streaming down the side of his face.

“When I saw the blood, I thought that his face was cut, so I wiped away the blood and I noticed that it was coming from his mouth. I said ‘Twin One, Twin One, Twin One is dead yo dead’ and put my face on his and began crying,” recalled Chester.

He said that while holding his son, he heard persons saying “That’s his father; that’s his father,” after which he felt someone grab him by his collar from behind and drag him backwards roughly, until he was able to stand on his feet.

“I swung around and fling a box, because I didn’t know what was happening and the person defend the box; then I heard somebody say he was a police. I was wondering what was going on and why would someone drag me like that while I was mourning my loss,” said Chester.

He said that the man who dragged him “like a dog” never identified himself and another officer whom he knows as “Police John from Stubbs” held him and comforted him and told him that everything would be alright.

“It’s a serious matter. This man just come grabble me by me jersey collar and drag me off me son and have me staggering. A nice police man, John from Stubbs come and tell me keep the faith. I heard people say, ‘is he father’ and he still did that. I don’t know the man; if I see him again I won’t know him. This policeman try to treat me like a dog. He drag me like a dog,” said Chester, who added that he asked the man if it was his child, if he would like somebody to do that to him.

He said that if he had been told that his son was killed in a violent encounter, he may have left home with a weapon and the situation could have ended badly when the man whom he did not know unexpectedly grabbed him from behind and dragged him.

In relation to his son, the bereaved father said that he is deeply saddened by the loss. He said that his son was a helpful person who, before leaving home every day, would ask him if he needed anything.

“He was never disrespectful to me. I miss my son and I will never stop thinking about him. I did prefer I go and leave them than for this to happen,” said Chester.(LC)