By The Star Staff
The president of the Association of Members of the Police of Puerto Rico, Lt. José J. Taboada De Jesús, called on the people of Puerto Rico to moderate the consumption of alcoholic beverages during the Holy Week, while showing concern about the accidents and related problems that are evidenced year after year during the period.
“It’s no secret that the Puerto Rico Police have to redouble their efforts to monitor and deal with complaints during Holy Week, which shouldn’t be the case. The people of Puerto Rico are one with a long religious tradition, in each community or neighborhood activities are held in churches or places designated to gather the public. However, it is also a period that many use to go to the beach or to the well-known “chinchorreo” where large amounts of liquor are consumed, which causes traffic accidents, fights between customers or friends and drownings on the beaches due to the high incidence of sea currents,” said Taboada De Jesús.
He added that disorderly behaviors affect the “citizen who wants to enjoy in an orderly way where people who make irresponsible use of alcoholic beverages produce accidents, fights and even human misfortunes that force the Puerto Rico Police to intervene.”
The union leader recalled that the members of the state and municipal police are human beings who also need this period of reflection, “law enforcement officers who do not have the same luck or opportunity as the common citizen, since their work and responsibilities force them to work to offer protection and security during the Easter period. It is necessary for the supervisors in charge of the shifts in the Municipal or State Police to design a schedule where our agents and their families can go to their favorite church to participate in the special religious services during Holy Week.”
Taboada De Jesús points out that police officers cannot take vacations during this period, or be absent since special long work shifts are established to attend to the security of the country.
“While people are getting ready to party, to go to church, to vacation or to be enjoying themselves on one of our beaches, law enforcement officers need to be on patrol or dealing with complaints,” he said.
The leader of the police urged citizens to use the period for reflection, attend church or convene family gatherings in a way that guarantees peace and respect to achieve a better quality of life.
On the other hand, he called for attention to the elderly population who use contact with police officers to discourage loneliness in sensitive periods of the year.
“We have a high population of seniors, who are mostly alone in their homes. What few people know is that sometimes these “old people” call the police headquarters to simply talk to someone, since their family or friends abandoned them.”
He concluded by saying that the association he leads makes a special call to the population to communicate with their relatives or elderly friends and offer them company and reflection. In the same way, he called for a police officer or relative to communicate and extend a greeting of peace.