Monday’s front page story about police impersonators had many readers concerned. Apparently “fake cops” used the disguise to assault a victim in Guana Bay and reportedly shot a man who was supposedly also armed on Back Street.
Hopefully the culprits will be caught soon, because the thought of criminals posing as law enforcement personnel is indeed a scary one. However, as rightly pointed out, a T-shirt saying “Police” alone is not proper attire for officers, who wear regulation uniforms while on duty.
Still, the advice to ask anyone claiming to be police to identify themselves is well-taken. People may normally have too much respect for authorities to dare question their legitimacy, but in light of this latest development doing so certainly seems reasonable enough.
This also means that police might have to exercise a bit more patience than usual when approaching citizens. In case of doubt it was even recommended to call 911 and verify the information given, which obviously could delay matters considerably.
After all, a certain degree of apprehension on the part of the public is to be expected following such news and there should be some sympathy for that among officers too. The best approach is consequently for both sides to remain calm where possible and avoid unnecessary problems due to understandable fear, whether ultimately justified or not.
