27-Year-Old PSV Conductor Faces Prison Time for Confrontation with Police Officer

A 27-year-old public service vehicle (PSV) conductor will spend the next four weeks at Dodds Prison reflecting on his decision to curse a police officer.

Nicholas Shamar Sobers of Hopewell, St Thomas, appeared before Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes in the No. 1 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to three charges.

These include that around 9:55 a.m., being a conductor of a PSV on Green Hill, he failed to display a PSV badge on being required by Police Constable Mac-Riley Snagg, and did not give his name and address to the officer when asked; that he did not at all times, while on duty, wear his badge in a manner that it could be easily seen; and that he used abusive language towards Snagg: “You is a bare ******* idiot. I don’t give a **** about you” and “You can’t ******** talk to me, I ain’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to hear you”.

Police Constable Cindy Greaves read the facts, saying that after the police officer stopped the vehicle in which Sobers was travelling and spoke to the driver, he began acting aggressively. The officer realised that Sobers was not wearing a PSV operator’s badge where it could be easily seen and asked for his name and address. The conductor responded with abusive language before exiting the route taxi and attempting to leave the area. The officer followed and asked him again for his particulars, and Sobers replied by cursing. He was arrested and charged.

In his defence, Sobers said he had gotten out of one bus and his cousin driving another ZR told him to get in.

“I told the officer I had no talk for him,” he stated, admitting that he felt harassed and vexed at the time of the incident.

He was remanded to Dodds Prison pending sentencing and will return to court on December 16.