who felt he was harassed by two white officers because of his colour.

Lee Edmead of Smith's Parish made the claims in Magistrates' Court while fighting a charge of riding without due care and attention.

But the two Policemen testified they had good reason to ticket Edmead for the offence last January 4.

They had seen him "swerving from side to side'' on Middle Road in Devonshire at about midnight and believed he was impaired and might cause an accident.

However, Edmead claimed the two officers decided to "pick'' on him after seeing him riding on Front Street with his dog Buttons earlier on. The dog had its paws on the handle bars while balancing on its hind legs.

Edmead said that for six years he had ridden with his dog and "best friend'' through Hamilton in that manner.

Edmead, known in the community for his collection of celebrity autographs and dog-licensing campaign for the SPCA, said: "It's a shame my dog can't talk because he knows the truth of what happened that night.

"I feel victimised because of my colour. I was caught in a system of racism against black males, especially ones travelling alone.'' He said the officers were parked by the Flagpole on Front Street when they first saw him. As he rode past, he claimed, he got a good look at them and saw them whisper to each other and grin.

"I thought there's trouble lurking and it's time for me and Buttons to go home,'' Edmead said.

As Edmead headed east out of town, he claimed he saw a Police car following him in the distance through his rear mirror and assumed it was the same one.

After he stopped to let some tourists take a photograph of him by the gas station, he forgot about the vehicle. The next thing he knew "it came from nowhere'' with its siren activated.

When he stopped, he claimed P.c. Kevin Knights "jumped'' out of his car and said: "Have you been drinking, you little black ******.'' The constable also asked him if he was a man or a woman, Edmead claimed.

Meanwhile, Edmead testified, P.c. Knight's partner P.c. Edward Peach was "standing in the dark with his truncheon out''.

"I had never been that nervous in my life,'' Edmead said. "I will never forget that night.'' Edmead denied he had been swerving. He conceded he had taken his hand off his handle bar momentarily to zip up his jacket, but had not swerved in any way.

Edmead also denied he had anything alcoholic to drink that night. He added it had been windy and rainy.

P.c. Knights testified the first time he saw Edmead that night was by Shelton Road on Middle Road. He denied he had been stationed by the Flagpole earlier on.

The racial remarks attributed to him were false, he said. He had only informed Edmead he had been swerving and then ticketed him.

P.c. Peach also denied seeing Edmead on Front Street earlier. He claimed it was Edmead who had been rude, shouting "what's the matter'' when stopped and saying the officers were harassing him and that he was going to make an official complaint.

Prosecutor Insp. Peter Duffy submitted to Edmead that it was "not natural'' for a dog to ride a bike in the manner Buttons had.

He asked him if he would be able to control the bike properly in an emergency situation such as a child running in front of him. Insp. Duffy added a "prudent person'' would have stopped to zip up their jacket, especially if they were with a dog.

Acting Magistrate the Wor. Charles-Etta Simmons said she needed a day to go over the evidence and would hand down her judgement this afternoon.