Councillor for the Trafalgar division of the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation, Kari Douglas, has been charged with breaching the curfew order, which was imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus, and disorderly conduct. 

  

The former PNP councillor, who crossed the political aisle to join the Jamaica Labour Party in February, said she was stopped on her way home Tuesday night, April 7, after tending to the needs of vulnerable persons in her division.

 

She said the police asked for her identification and she offered her driver's licence, but this was refused, with the officer stating that a KSAMC identification would be preferred. 

 

She told the officers she did not have that ID, but considering she was an elected official, it would be easy to make a phone call to verify her identity.  

 

Ms Douglas said the Town Clerk as well as Mayor of Kingston Delroy Williams, tried to identify her via phone call but those efforts were unsuccessful.  

 

She further alleged that the police acted unprofessionally and were abusive toward her. 

 

"They were very insensitive, unprofessional, unethical, abusive... I just remember them being strong and angry in how they communicated with me," she said. 

 

Ms Douglas expressed surprise that the police decided to lay charges against her under the curfew order set out in the Disaster Risk Management Act, despite leaders of the KSAMC, a senior police officer and her attorney verifying who she was.