Police were yesterday accused of showing "total disrespect'' by pulling over grieving relatives of a former top Policeman's deceased son after his funeral last Sunday.

Friends and relatives of Che Perinchief, son of former Assistant Police Commissioner Wayne Perinchief, were stopped for licence checks on Middle Road, Southampton, minutes after leaving the funeral at St. James Church in Sandys Parish.

Sonia Warner, mother of Che Perinchief's six-year-old son, said she plans to file an official complaint and claimed the officers' actions were "deliberate'' and "insensitive''.

Relatives and friends of 24-year-old Che -- who died last week in New York from a blood clot -- were on their way home from the funeral at St. James Church in Somerset at about 5.30 p.m. when Police pulled some of them over for licence checks.

"Everyone was so upset,'' recalled Ms Warner. "We had just put him in the ground. For them (Police) to have so much disrespect is unbelievable and insensitive.'' She noted that officers in about four Police cars conducted the checks without any sign of remorse.

"No sooner did my son just cry in his godma's arms, they pulled over his godma, claiming they were doing routine checks,'' Ms Warner said.

"He asked me `why are they pulling over my godma'.'' She added that she feared the experience would affect her son's view of Police as an adult.

"After seeing this, and he knows Police don't like his daddy, this will have a negative impact on him,'' Ms Warner said.

"His father told him a lot of things he shouldn't have. He knows his father didn't like the Police. But I'm afraid he will think his father was right and this will reinforce those views.'' Ms Warner said she also believed Police knew who they were pulling over.

"It was deliberate,'' she stressed. "It was just to show Mr. (Wayne) Perinchief that (Police Commissioner) Mr. (Colin) Coxall had the authority, after all the things that he (Mr. Perinchief) has been through.'' Ms Warner said she had left several messages for Mr. Coxall, but none were returned.

While admitting that "several Police officers of their own volition'' carried out routine vehicle checks on Middle Road, Southampton, near the Port Royal Gas Station last Sunday, and stopped relatives and friends of Mr. Perinchief, Police spokesman Gary Venning said it was "an unfortunate coincidence''.

"These checks have become a regular occurrence in view of the large number of unlicensed vehicles presently on the roads,'' P.c. Venning said, noting that there were more than 1,000 unlicensed vehicles on the road.

He also noted that in order to conduct the licence checks, it was necessary to physically stop vehicles to ascertain the expiry date on the licence.

"Those motorists whose licence was valid were delayed only a matter of seconds while those who displayed out-of-date stickers or failed to display a sticker were subsequently reported for the offence,'' P.c. Venning said.

"During the time the checks were being carried out and without knowledge of those conducting the checks, a number of persons who had been attending the funeral of Che Perinchief were pulled over at the road block. Regrettably, grieving family, friends and relatives were included among other vehicles that were stopped.

"It is unfortunate this should have occurred. However, I should stress that this situation was the result of an unfortunate coincidence and was not intended to cause further distress to the Perinchief family.''