At the orders of acting Gov. Joshua Tenorio, the Guam Police Department has launched an internal affairs investigation of the airport and prison over allegations that a man returning to Guam from Chuuk last week was assaulted by law enforcement upon his arrest.
Tenorio ordered the investigation last Friday, Adelup spokesperson Krystal Paco-San Agustin said.
Both the Guam International Airport Authority and the Department of Corrections will be investigated, she said.
“GPD will also be looking into whether a criminal complaint was filed and will initiate one if none was filed,” she added.
Officers from GPD were not involved in the airport arrest that led to the allegations of assault, Chief of Police Stephen Ignacio told the Pacific Daily News Monday.
GPD will be gathering evidence to determine if there was any wrongdoing or misconduct on the part of airport employees that contacted the alleged victims, Ignacio said.
There is a 90-day limit on internal affairs investigations, and a final report will be given to airport management.
“We’re still in the early stages. We just started today,” he said.
The police chief said upon completion of the investigation, a copy of the report will be provided to airport management. Any criminal complaint would be separate from the administrative investigation, but they will run in parallel, he said.
From arrival to alleged assaultThe assault allegedly happened at the A. B. Won Pat International Airport on Nov. 14, the PDN reported, by so far unidentified law enforcement officers.
Family of the allegedly assaulted man asked for their identities to be concealed over concern for their safety.
GIAA announced last Friday that it was launching a “review” of the allegations.
According to the Airport Authority, U.S. Customs and Border Protection notified the airport on Nov. 14 that the allegedly assaulted man had an active warrant.
Airport Police conducted the arrest, GIAA confirmed.
The warrant was issued for failure to appear in court for a civil dispute with a former landlord, according to prison records and the man’s family.
CBP as of Monday had yet to respond to an inquiry from the PDN, or confirm whether they were involved with detaining or arresting the man.
Following the arrest, the airport stated, the man was transported to GPD offices in Hagatña for booking and processing, before being transported to DOC.
Ignacio told the PDN that GPD does not conduct a medical evaluation during the booking stage.
“Every medical evaluation is done beforehand, or at the Department of Corrections during in-processing,” he said.
There was no record of any injury when the man was later confined at the Hagatña Detention Facility, the Department of Corrections confirmed last week.
Photos of injuries on the man’s head and body were reviewed and published by the PDN. His family member asserted that the injuries were caused by a beating that took place in an area at the airport, after the man’s initial arrest.
The warrant was vacated by the court on Nov. 15, and the man was ordered to be released, prison records show.
DOC providing records
Corrections Director Fred Bordallo said GPD will be provided with all records related to the allegedly assaulted man’s booking at the Hagatña lockup.
The corrections director said it was his understanding that the officers who processed the man found no indication of a “really brutal” injury.
A nurse also checked the man the morning after his late-night confinement.
“If a person was hit, you would be having marks all over the place,” he said.
Bordallo, a former police officer, said DOC was historically “very strict” about ensuring an injured person received medical attention.
“I have confidence,” he said, that the internal affairs investigation would reveal any unethical behavior of civil rights violations. “None of us in law enforcement (is) above the law … we have to treat all arrestees, anyone who’s going to be brought into our custody with true respect,” he said.
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