A 15-year CedarBridge Academy student with several injuries has alleged he was assaulted repeatedly by two Police officers after being wrongfully arrested and detained in a 'riot van' for almost four hours on Wednesday.

During that time, the teen claimed, he was not allowed to call his mother and two other Police officers stood by and did nothing to help him.

Jah'Mico Trott, of Fentons Drive, Pembroke, accompanied by his mother, Rose Parkes, yesterday said Police raided an area near his home at about 3.30 p.m and he and his friends went to see what was going on.

Two officers, he said, arrived in a paddy wagon, while four others were in a large white 'riot van'.

The teens were home for the day as teachers at the Island's two senior schools went on strike over pay concerns.

"The Police arrested a guy and when they walked across us, he pointed directly at me," Jah'Mico said.

He said two officers approached him and wanted to search him so he raised his arms and allowed the officers to empty his pockets.

"I told them that I was only 15 years old," he continued. "Then one of the officers kicked me in the knee cap and flopped me off my feet before he handcuffed me."

He said he was never told that he was under arrest but when he asked what was happening, he was told to "just get up" before being slapped in the back of his head by the arresting officer, who he described as a "tall, Bermudian guy".

Jah'Mico said he asked his friends not to tell his mother as he thought, since the Police search turned up fruitless, he would be released by the time she got home from work.

He was put in a van and was taken on a four-hour drive with his alleged attackers and two other officers, he claimed.

"First we went to Southampton Rangers Club, then to the Hayward's grocery store where they arrested two more guys and took them to Somerset Police Station," he said.

"All this time I am still handcuffed tightly and my hands are turning purple. I told the Police that I was in pain, but they just laughed." After Police dropped off the men, Jah'Mico said he was taken to a grassy area somewhere in the vicinity of Hog Bay Level, Sandys, where the same two officers took him out of the van, while the others waited in the vehicle.

The youth said he resisted going with them to a section of the area where the cane grass was high. "I didn't want to go with two men," he said.

It was then, he said, Police told him: "We know what your daddy is doing", referring to Jah'Mico's stepfather, a Jamaican national.

But when he said he did not know what they were talking about, he claimed he was slapped in the face by the West Indian officer with a telephone directory.

"Then he said: 'We're already going to jail your daddy so if you want to help your mother you better tell us what your daddy is doing',"Jah'Mico claimed.

The teen admitted he made a snide comment to the officers and claimed the Bermudian officer slapped him to the ground and kicked him in the buttocks several times.

Jah'Mico said he tried to get up and run but his shoe came off and the officers caught up with him and the Bermudian officer slapped him across the face.

He said he cried out for help, but no one came to his aid.

"Then they threw me into the truck and flung the shoe at me. It hit me in the chest," he said.

Jah'Mico claimed they then drove in an easterly direction and pulled over once again near the Southampton/Warwick boundary. He said he was questioned again about his stepfather and his head was slapped against a wall.

"I was crying again," said the teen. "Then they threw me back into the van and took me to Hamilton Police Station."

There, he said he was told: "If you say anything we're definitely going to arrest your mother...As long as you don't tell anybody we'll let you off with a caution."

It was then, at approximately 7.30 p.m., the teen said the handcuffs were removed - four hours after they had been placed on him.

Jah'Mico said he was then shown a half-smoked marijuana cigarette in an evidence bag and was told: "We'll say it was yours."

When he was finally allowed to call his mother, she picked him up and took him home, but when he told her what happened, she along with her husband and son, returned to the Police Station where she filed a complaint.

Mrs. Parkes said they took her son to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a badly bruised knee and buttocks and a sprained finger. He also had abrasions on his face and one of his arms.

The mother of four said she was "totally angry" about this alleged incident and said she was planning to seek legal advice.

She said the experience has taught her that no one should believe that this could never happen to their child: "It could happen, and that child should scream to the top of their lungs when it does."

And she questioned why the Police were targeting her husband. "He has not been in any trouble," she said.

And Jah'Mico said this incident has left a bitter taste in his mouth. "I don't like the Police any more," he said.

In a statement released yesterday from the Bermuda Police, it was confirmed that Mrs. Parkes had lodged a complaint and that a full investigation into the matter will be launched.