One day after police officers were mobbed by Princes Town villagers, a "PH" driver was ordered to attend anger management sessions for two years for cursing the police in an unrelated matter.
Andy Chase, 34, also called Kevon Charles, of Rio Claro, got a stern tongue lashing from San Fernando Magistrate Kerianne Byer after he pleaded guilty to obscene language and resisting arrest in the Fifth Court yesterday.
The court heard that around 11.30 pm on Wednesday, PC Mark Clement and another police officer were on patrol along Union Road, Marabella, when they heard Chase, who was standing near Smart Shop, use obscene language.
Prosecutor Sgt Krishna Bedassie said when Clement confronted Chase and asked his name he used disrespectful words. The officer then held his hand to arrest him, but Chase pulled his hand away violently. Using obscene language, he told the officer he could not lock him up because "my Godfather is Fitzgerald Hinds."
"Why were you so disrespectful to the police?" asked Byer, who stressed obscene language was still an offence in T&T. "I don't understand why when the officer came to make an inquiry that you would choose to be so disrespectful."
Chase said maybe it was because of the officer's approach. He said he was on his way to make a report to the Gasparillo Police Station because "some people came around me and my cousin." He said his head was also swollen and he was in pain.
However, Bedassie said Chase was taken to hospital but the medical report stated there were no obvious injuries. "Obscene language is an offence in this country and until that changes it is against the law. At the end of the day it is a matter of respect. Whether or not you feel someone has been disrespectful to you, you have to control your anger and treat with the situation accordingly."
However, the magistrate said Chase seems to have a penchant for that sort of behaviour, since he had previous convictions in 2009 and 2012 for obscene language and disorderly behaviour. Reminding him the maximum sentence for obscene language is 30 days hard labour and resisting arrest is two years hard labour, the magistrate fined him $900 on the resisting arrest charge. He has to pay the fine in a month or serve three months in jail.
Noting that he did not learn his lesson on the previous occasions, he was fined for obscene language and the magistrate put him on a two-year probation. She told him to report to the Probation Office department and undergo anger management to learn to control his temper during that period. If he disobeys, Byer said he will have to return to court for sentencing and she will not be lenient.
No one was arrested in Tuesday's incident at Indian Walk, where residents reportedly hurled insults at the police and even threatened to pelt them with stones in protest over the attempted arrest of another resident.