Since his appointment and confirmation by the Liberian Senate, his first precedent and encounter has left the public to contemplate on how professional the Liberia National Police is going to be under a Gregory Coleman Administration.
Gregory Coleman, the current Inspector General of Police, after serving in the position under the former Unity Party and now the ruling establishment, is recognized as one of the outstanding IG among many inspector generals of the Liberia National Police thou prompting his recalled to manage the Liberia National Police.
But since his takeover of the police, in less than a month within the President one hundred days deliverables, some citizens are finding it difficult to believe if the Coleman of yesterday is the same Coleman, in terms of professionalism in discharging his administrative duties through his officers and in line with the reality of the President statement when he said “there will be no business as usual” under his administration.
It can be recalled of recent that, after some faculty members and lecturers of the state run University decided not to work until they can be pay by the UL Administration, something that attributed students’ groups from UL to protest in solidarity to faculty and lecturers demand, some members of the Police Support Unit, were seeing on the campus of the University chasing after students; an action that left several students with first and second degreed injuries.
An investigation conducted by our reporter established that while the students were planning their protest action, they were taking by surprise the presence of PUS officers in the confined of the University where the students were situated; and in an extreme proximity, without any further inquiry by the police officers, students were victimized, beyond their imagination.
Speaking with some eyewitnesses, they alleged that the police presence on the campus may had been a tip from an insider; adding that before they students could realize to get outside with the planned protest, the police was already o them. “All I could see was student and running all around the campus with officers chasing after them, and those that were caught, are the ones who feel the weight” narrated by an eyewitness.
At the same time, a Human Rights Activate, is calling on the Liberian Legislature to summer the Police Inspector General for questioning to give reason for his man actions against armless citizens.
According to the United Methodist Human Rights Coordinator, the action of the police against the UL students does not represent the kind of government and administration Liberians are anticipating under the UP Government; noting that Cornel Coleman is known to be one of the professional Inspector Generals among others, but the recent actions of some of his officers indicate a high level of unprofessionalism that should not be taking lightly
Human Rights Advocate Jefferson Knight, asserted that protest action by UL Students is something that has been practice from time in memorial and that is the way they have to expressed their grievances to national government; citing that if for reason the police want to disburse such action, they should learn how to used persuasive mean in a professional manner, but not assorting force and brutality against citizens who are trying to demonstrate their concern in a manner they feel like.
Knight argued that as a matter of fact, peaceful gather to demonstrate one plight is a constitutional provision and the students’ action was a protest to education which also has constitutional backing; noting that despite the police is responsible for law and order but they need to be cognizant with the law and maintain more professionalism.
The Human Rights defender used the medium to expressed concern that it was too soon for the Unity Party Government =, headed by President Joseph Boakai to begin doing thing that will create fear and double in the minds of citizens and strangers on how well the UP administration going to run the country.
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