Accused curfew breacher says cops are ‘unfair’ when enforcing the law
A Virgin Gorda man who was charged alongside two relatives for breach of curfew has complained of receiving discriminatory treatment from law enforcers.
Cliff Creque as well as his father Clinton, and brother Chris, were all brought before the Magistrate’s Court on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to the offence.
But according to Cliff, he and his relatives were singled out among a larger gathering of persons at the time of the alleged incident.
“That’s unfair … They had other people there and they were not charged,” he told the court.
It is alleged that around 5:45 pm on April 12, 2020 when the BVI was under a 24-hour lockdown, the police were informed of an illegal gathering happening at Petty Pasture.
After an inquiry, the police found that the three relatives were not essential workers and they did not have any reasons to break curfew.
However, the three Creque’s were adamant that they were in the vicinity of their home when the police stopped them. They added that a presumably off-duty police officer was at the gathering and the officer was not charged for breach of curfew.
The Creque’s maintained that the enforcement of local laws was unfair and did not favour ‘the common man’.
Meanwhile, after Magistrate Khadeen Palmer offered $10,000 signed bail and the condition that the trio must report to the Virgin Gorda Police Station every Friday between 7 am and 7 pm, the trio sought to retract their initial guilty plea.
They said dealing with bail and its accompanying reporting conditions was too much of a hassle. However, Magistrate Palmer dismissed that guilty plea. She said based on their prior statement, she could not accept their plea change.
According to previous statistics from the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force, more than 100 curfew breaches had occurred around the time the Creque’s were implicated.
But according to Cliff, he and his relatives were singled out among a larger gathering of persons at the time of the alleged incident.
“That’s unfair … They had other people there and they were not charged,” he told the court.
It is alleged that around 5:45 pm on April 12, 2020 when the BVI was under a 24-hour lockdown, the police were informed of an illegal gathering happening at Petty Pasture.
After an inquiry, the police found that the three relatives were not essential workers and they did not have any reasons to break curfew.
However, the three Creque’s were adamant that they were in the vicinity of their home when the police stopped them. They added that a presumably off-duty police officer was at the gathering and the officer was not charged for breach of curfew.
The Creque’s maintained that the enforcement of local laws was unfair and did not favour ‘the common man’.
Meanwhile, after Magistrate Khadeen Palmer offered $10,000 signed bail and the condition that the trio must report to the Virgin Gorda Police Station every Friday between 7 am and 7 pm, the trio sought to retract their initial guilty plea.
They said dealing with bail and its accompanying reporting conditions was too much of a hassle. However, Magistrate Palmer dismissed that guilty plea. She said based on their prior statement, she could not accept their plea change.
According to previous statistics from the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force, more than 100 curfew breaches had occurred around the time the Creque’s were implicated.
