Officer Haynes - SRO with a Gift

Officer Allen Haynes

by Shatina G.

“Jah Gojo Jitsu Ayu, a martial art, is what I started off with. When I first heard about the class, I was determined to join. I met the instructor of the class at a food fair and then after that I told him I wanted to join his class. I was already a black belt in shadokun,” said Officer Allen Haynes, a School Resource Officer.

He continued, “When I first went to the class, and I showed him I can tie my belt, he was highly impressed. He wanted me to start off as a black belt, but I wanted to go through the basics of karate and work my way up.

“Self-control and peace of mind is what they mainly teach in martial arts. It brings both the body and mind together as one. It also makes you a better person,” said Officer Haynes as he sat eating his plate of crab and rice under the bus shed of I.E.K.H.S.

Besides excelling in the martial arts, Mr. Haynes had a dream to be a police officer, so he pursued it. “I wanted to be better than the other police officers that ill-treated the people of the Virgin Islands. I wanted to help people and treat them better.

“I can also remember I was involved in an incident which involved me getting a ticket. An officer gave me a ticket… there were three cars parked and two of them were the officers’ friends. Because they were her friends, she voided their tickets, and gave me one. I then told her she was wrong. I went to court, and pleaded guilty. After that whole incident, I vowed to myself that I will never do that to anyone else,” he said as he gazed into the clouds.

I know personally that being a police officer can be a life threatening situation. It can be one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Fortunately for Mr. Haynes, “The only life threatening situation I have been in was two to three years in the department. A guy fired shots after me, and I had to shoot him… He was about 20 feet away from me.

“Then there came a time in my life I wanted to leave the force. Actually, I have been trying to leave for 17 years to be exact,” Haynes continued in a high, stressed voice. “It’s like looking from the inside is different from looking from the out. The only reason I’m not still trying to quit is because I adapted to the job, more as sucked in to it,” he said shaking his head.

Born and raised on St. Thomas ,U.S.V.I., Officer Haynes attended the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School. After he graduated, he took a break, and then it was off to Job Corps. Sadly, more problems came to his life. He dropped out of training when he found out his father passed.

“When my dad died in 1981, I came back home to St. Thomas and never went back to the States. My mom wasn’t working when my dad died, so I had to pick up where he left off and start living my life.”

In some ways he had a difficult childhood. “I used to be sick all the time with asthma. My parents had already signed the death papers because I was already dead. This is how bad it was.”

But some things turned out out for the best. On May 9, 1961, he got his “gift from God.” He was granted the gift of becoming a natural healer, better known as a “rub man,” who practices “setting” or as the down island people call it, “dressing.”

“No one showed me the techniques of natural healing. It is a gift from God. My grandfather and his family going straight back used to do it as well. Something that I did for fun was a gift, and I didn’t know back then.”

If you weren’t born with the natural gift, the advice that Mr. Haynes has for anyone who is interested is, “First [look] in your heart…you have to be ready in your heart and mind, and you have to accept other remedies that are in you field. You have to be ready mentally, physically, and socially.”

Before concluding my interview with Mr. Haynes, I asked him what advice he has to the younger generation. He replied, “Stay in school and become good parents, and don’t take life for granted. Life wasn’t promised to you, it was given.

“Not everyday is going to be a piece of cake. Just take care of yourself because one day you will have kids and you will have to take care of them like how your parents did for you.

“I have three kids and a wife and because I followed the instructions that my elders gave me, I can relax at home while enjoying the benefits of life. By changing one person’s life, is better than none. One day that person you raised or helped change will make a difference in the world forever.”