Allegations of incompetence and gross insensitivity have been lodged against Bermuda Police by a grieving mother.

Mary Jane Fuhrtz Smith, mother of deceased 15-year-old Eric "Roach'' Fuhrtz, who was this year's first road traffic fatality, was upset at the manner in which she and her surviving son were treated by officers during a series of incidents.

She said her opinion of Police changed after the investigation into Eric's accident and the imprisonment of her other son, Michael, 16, for a speeding ticket when officers said they could not find the ticket.

Ms Fuhrtz Smith said that the first officer on the scene of Eric's fatal accident at Southside in January, grabbed and shook Michael, yelling about the keys to the bike as Eric lay on the ground.

Eric died at King Edward VII Memorial hospital the next day.

"As long as it's not publicly spoken about, as long as you don't go to the Royal Gazette , everything is fine,'' she said.

Outgoing Police Commissioner Jean Jacques Lemay even apologised, she said.

But the major shock came for Ms. Fuhrtz Smith when her surviving son Michael failed to show up at home last Saturday night after leaving his part-time job.

She said he was picked up by Police at about 9.30 p.m. but was not allowed to call home. And she said that when she received a call from Police at 10.45 p.m. her heart was already racing.

Ms Furhtz Smith said that the Police should have been sensitive to the fact that her son Eric was killed recently in a road traffic accident, when they arrested her son Michael.

"As soon as the name came up they should have recognised it. Courtesy would say you have to contact this child's mother extremely quickly,'' she said.

"This is the way Bermuda Police treat a mother who has lost a child. It's intolerable.'' In December of last year, Michael was caught speeding and was due to be in court the day after Eric died.

Ms Fuhrtz Smith said Sergeant Philip Taylor from Police prosecutions arranged for both tickets to be dealt with during that trial. "When we appeared in court, they could find only one ticket. I gave him (Taylor) the number for both tickets. He had no excuse,'' she said.

She said she called Sgt. Taylor and explained she had lost the second ticket after the trial and he said he would call her to say when Michael was due in court.

According to Ms Fuhrtz Smith she and her son called Police Prosecutions a third and fourth time but no one could locate the ticket.

"Then Michael was arrested last week and they would not release him until Monday morning. This is a 16-year-old we're talking about here,'' she said.

"I was told I would have to contact a magistrate, which made me call a lawyer. I paid $75 for a lawyer to call a judge to get (Michael) released.

"He ended up spending the night in jail.'' Ms Fuhrtz Smith said that on top of having to fork out $75 for legal fees, she was still having to pay off bills in the region of $8,000 for Eric's funeral.

"Justice is never done on this Island. Courtesy and caring are trashed. They are not capable of handling a speeding ticket properly.'' She said no matter how many tickets were handled in a day, the computerised process should make finding tickets relatively easy.

"I'm not pleased at all,'' she said.

"I'm 43 years-old and I've lost all respect for the Bermuda Police as of January 6 (Eric's accident). I've lost every little bit of respect.

"They are incapable of doing their jobs. The majority are there for the pay cheque and getting out of the (Bermuda) Regiment.

She said several decisions concerning Eric's accident investigation are still pending after almost three months.

During the early investigations, she lost half-a-day's pay when Police failed to show up for an appointment and subsequently approached her at work for a two-hour statement.

Ms Fuhrtz Smith was so disturbed afterwards, she had to go home.

"I thoroughly understand where the kids are coming from. Before I would say (Police) are doing their jobs. Now I tell the kids to give their name, address, date of birth and call a lawyer.

"(Police) are a bunch of imbeciles and before January 6, I would never have said that. If they were working for me, they'd be fired.

"This will show Bermuda what they can expect (from Police),'' she added.

Responding to the allegations, a Police media relations spokesman said that it was "painfully obvious that Mrs. Fuhrtz Smith takes issue with the manner in which she believes Police handled both matters involving her two sons''.

Police admitted that Michael Fuhrtz was kept overnight in a cell but said it was because the type of warrant used to arrest him did not normally have bail conditions attached.

The spokesman refused to comment on allegations that an officer shook her son Michael at the scene of his brother's fatal accident, as Commissioner Lemay was off the Island.

Police also said it was "regrettable'' that Ms Fuhrtz Smith had not contacted Police with her complaints and said it was "most unfortunate that she has chosen to impugn the integrity and hard-working serving officers of the Bermuda Police service in this manner''.

The statement also extended an invitation to Ms Fuhrtz Smith to discuss her concerns with the media office or "to lodge a formal complaint with the divisional commander of Eastern Division''.