No criminal charges against cops in Nzinga King case

The police corporal implicated in the haircutting incident involving Rastafarian Nzinga King. is not to face any criminal charges.

The decision was handed down today Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Paula Llewellyn.

The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) had also reportedly arrived at a similar opinion. 

The DPP had been awaiting a forensic examination report for the past three weeks to complete her ruling.

The matter was initially being investigated by the police inspectorate before it was taken over by INDECOM.

King, a 19-year-old student from Lionel Town in Clarendon alleged that her dreadlocks were trimmed by a policewoman while in custody at the Four Paths Police Station in Clarendon last year.

King, who was arrested for disorderly conduct stemming from a June 2021 incident at a taxi park in May Pen, in the parish, also alleges that her dreadlocks were cut because the police said they were a suicide risk.

The allegations sparked outrage from the Rastafarian community. 

King who was also charged with a breach of the Disaster Risk Management Act appeared in the Clarendon Parish Court last Thursday to answer the charge of failure to wear a mask in public.

Defence attorney Isat Buchanan who is representing Princess Nzinga King, has said that his office was not informed about a ruling from the DPP and her team.

In an interview with THE STAR, Buchanan said his team heard about the ruling through the public.

"We haven't seen a document. INDECOM hasn't reached out, nobody. I don't even know what's going on," he said.

A trial date has been for June 15.

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