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Woman left unable to see after police officer 'punched me in eye'

Tue, Sep 5th 2023, 09:14 AM
Court Crime Tribune Stories

A WOMAN is pursuing legal action after a high-ranking male police officer in plain clothes allegedly punched her in the eye - leaving her unable to see through her left eye.

The punch resulted in Latique Perpall having a detached retina. It is not determined yet if she has been permanently blinded in that eye.
#She identified the officer to The Tribune as an assistant superintendent of police.
#The 29-year-old said her ordeal started on Friday when the officer made a lewd comment to her.
#“I was walking coming from ordering my food and someone came up behind me and told me ‘Your p---- fat’.”
#“I was like mister who the ---- you is and he was like ‘oh carry your fat p----’. So I start to argue back with him. I tell him ‘Oh no carry your little d---’ so he got mad because people through the corner was laughing.”
# Before she went to her yard, a police truck pulled up in front of her yard.
# “He point at me and say her lock her up. He say carry her to my station. They carry me to The Grove. When I went there, they start to book me.
#“He said ‘ain’t I tell y’all to take her to my station’... bear in mind I still do not know who this man is. I still didn’t even know he was an officer at the time.”
# “I was in handcuff. Before I got carried… he yuck me at the police truck, punch me in my eye while I was in handcuff. Then put me back in there and ram my head against the police truck door.”
# She went to the hospital on Saturday and remembered being there for almost a whole day. The ambulance came for her from the hospital.
# “The doctor told me there’s a hole in my retina of my eye and the bone in my eye is broken – my muscle is wrapped around the bone. Cannot see out my left eye right now. My whole face feels like it numb – swollen.”
# Ms Perpall said the situation makes her feel “bad”.
# “You have your boyfriend who you love. You have your family – that means you can’t walk nowhere with these man jumping in ear thinking your a prostitute just because you have a nice shape.”
# National Security Minister Wayne Munroe said he had not heard complaints of the matter but admitted the officer could be criminally charged if the allegations are found to be true.
# He said: “If somebody makes an allegation of police defaulting in their behaviour like that, they have to make a complaint to complaints and corruption. If necessary, the complaints and corruption will show that the matter is bound to be proved – can escalate it to a criminal charge.”
# In 2021, the Supreme Court awarded $82,856 in damages to Pedro Morley after a police officer punched him in his mouth, damaging eight of his teeth.
# Police Constable Courtney Hall, who The Tribune understood was still on the Royal Bahamas Police Force at the time, pleaded guilty to the allegations when it came before the Police Tribunal.

The punch resulted in Latique Perpall having a detached retina. It is not determined yet if she has been permanently blinded in that eye.

She identified the officer to The Tribune as an assistant superintendent of police.

The 29-year-old said her ordeal started on Friday when the officer made a lewd comment to her.

“I was walking coming from ordering my food and someone came up behind me and told me ‘Your p---- fat’.”

“I was like mister who the ---- you is and he was like ‘oh carry your fat p----’. So I start to argue back with him. I tell him ‘Oh no carry your little d---’ so he got mad because people through the corner was laughing.”

Before she went to her yard, a police truck pulled up in front of her yard.

“He point at me and say her lock her up. He say carry her to my station. They carry me to The Grove. When I went there, they start to book me.

“He said ‘ain’t I tell y’all to take her to my station’... bear in mind I still do not know who this man is. I still didn’t even know he was an officer at the time.”

“I was in handcuff. Before I got carried… he yuck me at the police truck, punch me in my eye while I was in handcuff. Then put me back in there and ram my head against the police truck door.”

She went to the hospital on Saturday and remembered being there for almost a whole day. The ambulance came for her from the hospital.

“The doctor told me there’s a hole in my retina of my eye and the bone in my eye is broken – my muscle is wrapped around the bone. Cannot see out my left eye right now. My whole face feels like it numb – swollen.”

Ms Perpall said the situation makes her feel “bad”.

“You have your boyfriend who you love. You have your family – that means you can’t walk nowhere with these man jumping in ear thinking your a prostitute just because you have a nice shape.”

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe said he had not heard complaints of the matter but admitted the officer could be criminally charged if the allegations are found to be true.

He said: “If somebody makes an allegation of police defaulting in their behaviour like that, they have to make a complaint to complaints and corruption. If necessary, the complaints and corruption will show that the matter is bound to be proved – can escalate it to a criminal charge.”

In 2021, the Supreme Court awarded $82,856 in damages to Pedro Morley after a police officer punched him in his mouth, damaging eight of his teeth.

Police Constable Courtney Hall, who The Tribune understood was still on the Royal Bahamas Police Force at the time, pleaded guilty to the allegations when it came before the Police Tribunal.

 

Click here to read more at The Tribune

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