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“I was dragged out of my house naked,” says woman, 55

Headline“I was dragged out of my house naked,” says woman, 55

She said police invaded her North Creek Road home and beat her up, fracturing her arm in three places

A woman told Amandala this morning that she is suffering with a dislocated shoulder, torn ligaments and fractured bones in her arm in three places, as well as pain in various parts of her body. She also told us that she was not given the doctor’s report, which was given to the police.

Cherry Anderson, 55, told Amandala that at about 6:30 Friday morning, July 26, she was ‘roughed up’ and beaten in her home on North Creek Road by police, then she was handcuffed and arrested.

Anderson said that she was taken out of her house naked, but before being taken downstairs, a blouse was thrown over her head, and she was put into the pan of the police mobile unit — allegations that the police have since denied.

In the pan of the police vehicle, according to Anderson, clothes were put on her because she was unable to dress herself because of her injuries.

She was taken to the police station, and afterwards, she was taken to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH) for examination and treatment.

Anderson was later released without charges, but ordered to return to the Number 1 Precinct Police Station today, Monday, where she was told by Superintendent Alden Dawson that she will be charged as soon as their investigation concludes.

Anderson told Amandala that about 6:30 Friday morning, she was in her bed when six policemen kicked down her door and ordered her boyfriend, who didn’t have on any clothes, to get out of bed and lie on the floor.

She was also nude when police began to struggle with her to handcuff her. She said that she was put on the floor in the hall and five policemen with guns stood over her while she was being manhandled to be cuffed.

Anderson said that she screamed in pain and hollered for them to stop, but they ignored her.

She was taken to the police station, where she was kept all day without being told the offense for which she had been taken into custody. She said that she was in terrible pain, and about 3:30 that Friday evening, she was taken to the KHMH, where she was X-rayed and given medicine.

Anderson was then returned to the police station. The medico-legal forms, signed by the doctor certifying her injuries, and the X-ray bills were handed over to the police, and she was later released without charges.

Anderson said that the incident began when she was at home about 6:00 that Friday morning. She heard knocking at the door, and when she opened it, she saw some policemen standing outside. They asked for someone whom she did not know, and she replied that no such person lived at her house.

She was told that she must come with them to the police station, that they wanted to talk to her. She insisted that she was not going, that she did nothing wrong, and moreover, they could not present her with a warrant.

The policemen then left without telling her anything more, but returned shortly after and broke down her door.

Anderson said that if they had told her what they were looking for, she would have cooperated without any objection. She said that when she was naked on the floor, the five policemen began to make fun of her and one of them began to kick her, while the others tugged and twisted her arm. She said that she knows two of the officers and will take legal action against them.

Anderson said that while at the station, she learned that the arrest was in connection with a vehicle that was reported stolen. She told Amandala that about 2:30 Friday morning, she and two of her daughters were heading home from the Princess Casino and got a ride with a man whom they know.
On reaching a speed bump which was not far from her home, the driver slowed down, but at the time there were some men standing near the bump who were obstructing traffic. The driver then came out of the vehicle, which was left running, and the men attacked and beat him.

Anderson said that it happened quickly. She immediately called 911 and walked home. She later learned, while at the station, that the vehicle had been stolen, because when the police responded, they took the driver and arrested one of the assailants. The other assailants had run off when they saw police.

The police, when they took the driver to the station to give a statement, left the vehicle running, with the key in the ignition, and someone stole the vehicle.

Ashanti Anderson, one of Cherry’s daughters, told Amandala that from their home they were able to see the police who came because the attack occurred a short distance from their house. Ashanti said that the driver would have been killed if it was not for the quick response of the police.

She was more than angry, however, that police came to her mother’s home and ‘roughed her up’ in connection with the incident when it was in fact her mother who called police.

Ashanti told Amandala that she went to the police station on Friday and saw the condition of her mother in police custody. She said that her mother was in pain and her arm was swollen and her shoulder was dislocated.

She became concerned, and begged the police to take her mother to the hospital, but was told that there was no vehicle available. She said that during the two hours they waited for her mother to be taken to the hospital, they saw vehicles come in and out of the compound.

Ashanti said that she was not able to accompany Cherry to the hospital, because she had begun to protest loudly against what had been done to her mother, and a police woman had warned that she would arrest and charge her for what she was saying. She was then escorted out of the station, and could not be with Cherry when she was taken to the hospital.

She said that this is the second time that her family has been abused by police. About two months ago, she said, her brother was shot in the foot, by a policewoman who went to their house to search for drugs and ammunition. Police claimed it was an accident, and nothing was done.

Ashanti said that with all the pain and suffering her brother endured, and the to-and-fro they had to undertake in taxis so that he could get medical treatment, they did not receive any help or compensation from police, and now her mother has been beaten and her shoulder dislocated.

Police, however, have announced that Cherry Anderson will be charged in connection with the theft of the vehicle, although the vehicle was later recovered near St. John Vianney School on Boots Crescent in the city on Saturday, July 27.

Anderson said that she has no clue what will happen at the police station today when she goes there, but she is in a lot of pain and wants to continue her medical treatment.

Superintendent Dawson told Amandala late this evening that Anderson came to see him, and she was informed that she would be charged when their investigation concludes. Dawson also said that he knows nothing about Anderson being taken into custody naked, and beaten, because he was given no report about that.

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