POLICE 'SHOULD NOT ACT LIKE CRIMINALS'

Police officers should be dignified as they make court appearances -
not behave like "a common criminal".

Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin made this point yesterday during
a media briefing at the Police Band headquarters in Station Hill, St
Michael.

"If a police officer is accused of crime, there is no reason for him
to run like a common criminal and disguise his face or hide from the
media," he said.

"If he is not guilty, he can depend on our criminal justice system to
vindicate his rights.

"If he is guilty, well, it's even worse, even more odious, that he
should be hiding his face, and I think that he should be man enough
to stand up and bear the consequences for his misdeeds."

Dottin's briefing dealt with issues including police-media relations
and an incident last Saturday when two media workers were arrested
and charged while attempting to photograph a police officer on drug
charges.