Tanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter RASTAFARIAN NZINGA King will be seeking financial compensation for assault and battery after Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn ruled last Wednesday, that a police corporal accused of forcibly cutting her hair should not be charged. Llewellyn said that the allegation was undermined by a raft of inconsistencies and witness claims that King had confessed to cutting her own hair. But the DPP’s ruling has not sapped the will of her legal team to seek a favourable decision elsewhere. “We are going to pursue the civil course, and we are going to be seeking the relevant damages that can be awarded through the jurisdiction of the civil court,” said attorney-at-law Isat Buchanan, noting that he was not surprised by the long-awaited ruling that went against his client. The closely watched incident, which sparked public outrage, came to the fore last June after the 19-year-old student of Lionel Town, Clarendon, alleged that her dreadlocks were trimmed by a woman cop while in custody at the Four Paths Police Station in Clarendon. King, who was arrested for disorderly conduct stemming from a June 2021 incident at a taxi park in May Pen, in the parish, claimed that her hair was cut by the police because it made her a suicide risk. Rastafarian doctrine prohibits haircuts among its adherents. Shortly after King’s story was publicised, an investigation was launched by the Inspectorate and Professional Standards Oversight Bureau (IPROB) but was turned over to oversight agency INDECOM, which sent off its findings to the DPP in November. However, the DPP’s ruling was delayed by three weeks after it had requested further details from INDECOM. Llewellyn, who explained her ruling in a statement onWednesday, also recommended that no charges be laid against a male cop pertaining to allegations of assault related to King’s arrest for failing to wear a mask in public, disorderly conduct, and abusive language. Similar recommendations were made by INDECOM following its probe. The DPP, in an interview on RJR’s ‘Beyond the Headlines’, further explained that several inconsistencies were found in the case. According to her, detainees who were in the lock-up at the material time have indicated that they saw King pulling her hair from her head and summoned the police. Llewellyn further noted that there are accounts from police witnesses who have indicated that they visited her cell and saw the locks on the ground. The DPP also indicated that there are accounts from King’s classmates who said the Rastafarian had informed them a week before the incident that she was going to cut her hair and confessed to them later that she had trimmed her locks. Llewellyn said the hair was tested and no trace of the policewoman’s DNA was found on the locks. However, the DPP said its recommendation does not preclude King from pursuing civil remedies. She said further in the release, “No recommendation is made in respect of a possible investigation regarding Ms King for the offence of creating public mischief.” But she noted that the police can decide to do so if they believe they have sufficient evidence. At the same time, she agreed with INDECOM that there should be a departmental inquiry into whether any administrative breaches occurred pertaining to failure by the police to make available relevant records at the material time King was detained at the station. “We also concur with INDECOM that Ms Nzinga King should be afforded professional counselling. We strongly recommend this course be pursued by her family and any competent authority,” she ruled. Buchanan, however, described the ruling as “much ado about nothing”, noting that it will have no bearing on the civil action. “The ruling of the DPP is of no moment in the civil jurisdiction. In fact, there would have been several instances where the DPP would have made a determination not to prosecute and private attorneys have been successful in the civil court,”said Buchanan. Relating to the claim that his client had cut her own hair, the lawyer said the DPP was at liberty to state whatever she pleased. tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com THE MONTHLY GLEANER | FEBRUARY 14 - MARCH 16, 2022 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | NEWS 5 HAIR-SAY Rasta King to press claim in civil court after DPP clears cop Nzinga King, 19, with a handful of her dreadlocks she saved after she was allegedly trimmed by a cop. NATHANIEL STEWART/ PHOTOGRAPHER
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