Mayor general Eduardo Alberto Then.
Santo Domingo, DR
The director of the National Police, Major General Eduardo Alberto Then, banned roadblocks and checkpoints on the streets and highways of the country because he believes that they are not very effective in stopping criminals.
The police director said that the checkpoints and roadblocks turn hateful to honest and hard-working people.
He also pointed out that the criminals “go out looking for them” since they never show up at the checkpoints and turn themselves into the authorities.
The police director indicated that honest and working people usually go on their way calmly when they see a roadblock, which causes them inconveniences due to the loss of time and inconvenience of the activity.
Last Easter, a married couple traveling from Villa Altagracia to Santo Domingo lost their lives when they arrived at a checkpoint installed by the National Police.
The young couple Elisa Muñoz and Joel Díaz were shot without any words.
The reason given by the National Police was that the agents were on the trail of an alleged motorcycle theft gang and had received an alert from Bonao that the alleged assailants were heading in the same direction.
The agents alleged that the couple was traveling in was white, the same color they had been warned about.
“The roadblocks to me are hateful to good society. The delinquent has never gone to a roadblock…I have not seen the first delinquent who has gone to a roadblock to be put in handcuffs,” said Maj. Gen.
The message from the Police Director
Major General Alberto Then pointed out that only serious and hard-working people go on their way when they see a checkpoint, and then they have to submit to the checks.