A police constable pushed a 19-year-old tourist to the ground causing her to lose consciousness. Instead of providing medical assistance the police arrested her and falsely charged her with violently resisting a police constable. The young Colombian, Torres Castano, was kept in preventive custody for seven months, away from her young daughter and her family. Her voice was never heard during those long months in detention - her only support was her legal aid lawyer.
The constable, Alessia Bonello, had been punched. But it wasn't the 19-year-old Colombian who punched her - it was her sister. Bodycam footage showed the Colombian's sister apologising to Constable Bonello for punching her. Bonello replied "you should have thought of that before you hit me," evidence presented in court showed.
The 19-year-old Torres Castano was wearing a red dress and a dainty necklace, court proceedings show. Her sister was wearing a black dress and a thick chain. Constable Bonello appears to have shoved to the ground the one in the red dress. Her sister, in the black dress, was the one who punched the police officer, presumably in retaliation.
The court observed that the police officers could be heard swearing and cursing in the footage.
What is most disturbing is that the police officers presented selective footage of the incident in court. Those officers withheld key parts of the bodycam footage which would have clearly spared the 19-year-old mother seven months in custody and the false accusations.
Constable Bonello also told passers-by to stop filming the incident. The court slammed the constable's behaviour remarking that her actions did not bode well for transparency.
The court ruled that the Colombian's case was "a miscarriage of justice". Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech sent the judgement to Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa to determine whether "any administrative proceedings should be instituted against the police officers involved in the incident".
This wasn't just a miscarriage of justice. This was a total perversion of justice. This was flagrant abuse of power by police officers. The accused hadn't committed the crimes she was charged with. The 19-year-old mother was condemned to seven months in custody, depriving her of her daughter and her freedom.
The whole debacle is a sad indictment of the heavy handedness and abuse meted out to those who dare cross some of our police officers. On that fateful night Torres Castano was on a night out with her sister and their friend Piderahita Serna, the court was told. The women got into an argument with a bouncer. When police intervened Serna gave police constable Bonello her middle finger and shouted abuse. She didn't physically assault the police. She didn't threaten them. She was insolent.
That was enough to trigger three police officers to arrest Serna. Instead of defusing the situation and ignoring Serna, those officers escalated things beyond measure. Torres Castano grabbed Constable Bonello's wrist to draw her attention. In the footage Constable Bonello is heard shouting "Don't touch me...don't touch me, I already told you don't f.....ing touch me". The Colombian was then pushed to the ground and lost consciousness. When she came round she found two male police officers watching her. The court noted that "instead of giving her medical assistance, Torres Castano was arrested". The police bundled her into their van and into seven months of detention.
This shocking story exposes not only an utter lack of professionalism by the officers involved. It reveals a culture of abuse of power coupled with a blatant disregard for basic human rights. This isn't just a miscarriage of justice. It is a demonstration of deep rot within Angelo Gafa's police force that allows police officers to condemn a 19-year-old mother to seven months of imprisonment through what was described by the courts as a miscarriage of justice.
Police officers should be protected and should not be subjected to abuse or physical assault. Effective deterrents should be in place to prevent police officers from being subjected to any form of abuse by the public. But that doesn't mean that police officers should falsely accuse and hold in detention a 19-year-old for seven months. The reputation of decent professional police officers should not be besmirched by the thuggish behaviour of some of their colleagues.
When police officers abuse their position of power, action must be taken to preserve the public's trust. The police force cannot be allowed to police itself. Despite the magistrate's referral of her judgement to Police Commissioner Angelo Gafa, no action is known to have been taken. In any civilised country such a brutal condemnation by the courts would result in suspension of the police officers involved until an independent investigation is carried out. This disturbing case merits more than just "administrative proceedings".
It's high time that an independent police complaints commission is established to investigate cases of serious police misconduct. That commission should be completely independent of the police and government. It should have the power to investigate such incidents to ensure accountability.
As the court's judgement was delivered, freeing the Colombian from her ordeal in custody, she burst into tears telling the magistrate "I want to hug you".
Which brutal regime imprisons an innocent 19-year-old mother for seven months simply in retaliation for something her sister did? What's worse than being detained for something you have done? It's having your younger sister imprisoned for what you've done and watching her infant daughter crying her eyes out every night for seven months because she can't see her mother.