WESTERN BUREAU — The Police Public Complaints Authority (PPCA) said yesterday that it will ask the director of public prosecutions (DPP) to rule on whether a number of St James cops should be charged in connection with the beating of a teenager.

The beating allegedly took place while the teen was being taken into custody on gun charges during an operation by a 22-member police team in Tucker, St James. He was later placed in lock-up at the police divisional headquarters at Freeport, Montego Bay and will appear in court today.

According to the PPCA’s director of complaints and investigations, Glen Morrison, even though the 16 year-old boy has refused to co-operate with their investigation, there are still grounds for an investigation.

“He does not want us to investigate the matter. He feels that the police has the right to do what they did,” Morrison told the Observer yesterday. “He felt he has done something wrong… (But) there is grounds for complaint because the police has no right to mete out their own justice on any citizen in this country.”

The PPCA needs a signature from the teen’s guardian to prod him into providing them with the information needed for them proceed with their investigations. The next step would be to identify the police officers accused of the beating and then notifying the cops of the allegations against them.

“We will serve them the complaint in writing and give them a reasonable time to respond. The reasonable time that we give is 21 days,” Morrison said. “In the meantime we (will look for witnesses) who saw what happened and then we will submit our files to the director of public prosecutions.”

The PPCA, he said, would indicate to the DPP’s office whether the findings of their investigations were either “unfounded, substantiated or unsubstantiated”.

But yesterday the boy’s mother, Valerie McDonald, said she was unwilling to file a complaint until her child has seen a doctor. She said she intends to make a petition, when her son appears in court today, for him to have a medical examination. The results of the exam, she said, will determine her actions, which could include legal actions against the police.

Meanwhile, the teen’s reported inability to identify the cops who beat him has stymied any possibility of internal disciplinary action.

“The complainant would have to identify the person because our system goes the same as the courts. You can’t just say “police hit me” and 20 police was there,” said deputy superintendent in charge of crime for St James, Derrick ‘Cowboy’ Knight. “It is impossible for 20 police to beat you so you have to identify these persons… He is unable to do that because the area was dark.”

He added that statements have been requested from the cops who were on the scene.

“Persons who were in that area are asked to supply statements as to their actions… if anybody can be identified we will (make) a departmental charge against them,” he said.

Cops charged, he said, would either be tried by the commanding officer for the division — Superintendent Newton Amos — or fined and reprimanded.

The teen, the last of McDonald’s five children, was detained at about 11:45 pm on June 27th. According to police reports, he and another 17 year-old were seen acting suspiciously, they were searched and two home-made firearms and two rounds of ammunition were allegedly taken from them.

His mother, who had also complained that she was not being allowed to see her son and had expressed fear that he was being beaten inside the cells, got a chance to visit yesterday.

According to DSP Knight, it is sometimes difficult to allow family members to visit as often as they would wish because of the limited visiting hours as well as the large number of detainees.