I find it quite regrettable that some of our citizens are so quick to copy the behaviour of people in other countries, like the United States, where there are genuine concerns about the actions of the leaders. One of our community leaders leaps to the attack, accusing the local police of behaving like the police officers in Minneapolis who were involved in the death of Mr George Floyd.
He quotes an unfortunate statement by our police commissioner—one shot, one kill—to support his accusation. The commissioner was unwise to give such an edict, especially as it is so ripe for misinterpretation, as he is now discovering.
There is no parallel between what happened in the US and what has been happening in our country. The police have, on occasion, used excessive force in the pursuance of their duties and I, for one, have been appalled by their actions in a number of cases, but it is a long stretch to liken it to a police officer kneeling on the neck of another human being, while being begged by onlookers to release him.
We need to be careful not to go jumping on the bandwagon simply to get our pictures in the newspaper or to try to appeal to base sentiments.
Karan Mahabirsingh