Holness says state has no right to cut someone’s hair

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has broken his silence on matter surrounding the trimming of Rastafarian teenager Princess Nzinga King, allegedly by a cop at the Four Paths Police Station in Clarendon.

Speaking at a COVID-19 press conference yesterday,the prime minister said he has been following the matter very closely, and has asked Commissioner of Police Major General Antony Anderson to place the "full investigative force at his disposal to find out whether there were any administrative breaches and any criminal breaches at play".

"We want to know whether anybody's rights would have been abused," the prime minister said.

King alleged that her hair was trimmed while she was in custody at the station on July 22. The teenager was taken into custody on a charge of disorderly conduct following an altercation with the police. Her mother, Shirley McIntosh, said she was held at the station until July 26.

The Inspectorate and Professional Standards Oversight Bureau (IPROB) of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the Independent Commission of Investigations and the Office of the Public Defender are undertaking separate probes to ascertain the truth.

Holness said that he met with Anderson on Sunday and enquired of the status of the investigations, which he said are ongoing.

"The commissioner and I are of the same view that in post-independence Jamaica, we should not be having this kind of condition about people's hair choices and whether or not the state has any rights to cut someone's hair. It is totally against what we believe in as Jamaicans," Holness said.

Deputy Prime Minister Horace Chang, who has the national security portfolio, said that the probes are yet to be completed.

"Even as we await the report of the investigations into the allegations by Ms King, the Government's position is clear - there is no place and absolutely no acceptance of discriminatory actions towards Rastafarians. Everyone must be treated with dignity by the members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force," Chang said yesterday.