A CHAGUANAS magistrate has dismissed two complaints against a woman from Central Trinidad who was arrested and allegedly manhandled by police after she stopped by a vegetable stall in Freeport to purchase chandon beni in 2021.

Magistrate Dwayne Murray acceded to the request of defence attorneys Kiel Taklalsingh, Renuka Rambhajan and Kavita Moonesar to dismiss the dangerous driving and resisting arrest charges after the police failed to provide bodycam footage of the incident and had no witnesses present on October 6, when the trial was to begin.

Murray had previously adjourned the matter in March to give the police time to provide the bodycam footage of the officers who arrested Fareeda Sookdeo on July 12, 2021. Murray was subsequently told that the police could not locate the footage on its cloud storage. However, Sookdeo’s attorneys were able to provide the court with social media footage of the incident.

Rambhajan objected to requests by the police for an adjournment since prosecutors only submitted a sick-leave certificate for acting Cpl Satish Mahabir, the officer who charged Sookdeo, and none of the other police witnesses were present.

Sookdeo cried after Murray repeated his order of dismissal. Her attorneys explained that the incident left her severely traumatised, and that Sookdeo intended to file complaints with the Police Complaints Authority and the police service’s complaints unit, along with a claim for malicious prosecution, since, according to Rambhajan, there was no legal basis for the manner of Sookdeo’s arrest and subsequent charges. She questioned, “Who is policing the police?”

She said the incident was a travesty of justice and highlighted the “arrogance and highhandedness” of police officers who abuse their authority and bully citizens.

Mahabir and his colleague on mobile patrol alleged they observed a car parked in front of the Mission Road market, obstructing traffic.

One of the officers entered a nearby business place and identified himself. Sookdeo admitted that the car was hers and she was asked to move the vehicle, but the police claimed she refused.

The prosecution said the defendant declined to produce her driver’s permit and insurance documents when requested. She then returned to her car, sat in the driver’s seat, and allegedly threatened the officers, saying, “Come by my car, I will bounce allyuh …”

The three videos presented to the court by the defence showed at least four police officers, one heavily armed, dragging Sookdeo from her car before arresting her.