Target squad comes under fire in Linden
Cop shot, critical
Gunmen escape into bushes after highway chase
Army, police set up roadblocks
By Samantha Alleyne
A police officer is in a critical condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital after he was shot when gunmen opened fire on a mobile patrol about ten yards from the Wismar Police Station early yesterday afternoon.
Constable Raul Thomas, 32, was airlifted to the city in the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) helicopter last night and was said to be in a stable condition in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital at press time.
Two other ranks, Constables Leslie Henry, 26, and Trevor Cumberbatch, 24, were admitted to the Linden Complex Hospital with minor injuries. The three are all members of the Target Special Squad (TSS) stationed at the Mackenzie Police Station.
In the crime spree that erupted after the February 23 jailbreak, four policemen have been shot and killed. One, Andy Atwell, died in a murderous attack by bandits on the Alberttown Police Station. The others are Superintendent Leon Fraser, detective Harry Kooseram and Constable Sherwin Alleyne.
A police press release yesterday said that a party of ranks on patrol on Burnham Drive, Wismar observed a suspicious-looking blue-green car driving slowly some 15 yards from the police station.
According to the release, upon approaching the car, the ranks were met with a hail of gunfire resulting in serious injury to Thomas. The car sped away but was pursued and intercepted on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway where it was abandoned by the bandits who escaped into the bushes.
There was speculation yesterday as to whether the police officers were specifically targeted by the gunmen since according to some residents the car was at one time following the police vehicle.
The TSS has come under severe attack for its role in perceived extra-judicial killings and threats were recently levelled against the police in several inflammatory pamphlets circulated by persons unknown. Coincidentally, yesterday marked a week since the police shot and killed wanted man Compton Cambridge in a shoot-out at Nabaclis. Cambridge, who was wanted in connection with the murders of the four policemen, was buried yesterday.
When Stabroek News arrived at the Wismar Police Station about two hours after the shooting incident, which occurred at about 3:05 pm, the area was quiet. There was a barrier in front of the station’s gate but no officer was manning the gate.
According to reports, the officers, who are known for patrolling in and around Linden, were on their normal routine when they came under fire. This newspaper was told that the car, PHH 1483, in which the gunmen were travelling was behind the police officers’ vehicle and as they approached the station the policemen pulled up suddenly in front of the car causing the driver to mash the brakes. Constable Thomas was said to have jumped out of the vehicle and was approaching the car when he came under fire.
Reports said that the police officer was wearing a bulletproof vest but he was shot just below the vest and sustained a bullet wound to his abdomen. The officer fell to the ground and the car sped away in the direction of the bridge that links Mackenzie and Wismar. The two other officers in the vehicle returned fire at the men and followed them.
Cumberbatch was the driver of the vehicle and as a result only Henry was able to fire at the men. But a few minutes later, Henry was hit by a bullet in his chest and Cumberbatch started to bleed through his nose. This, according to reports, was caused by shock from the incident. Luckily Henry was wearing a bulletproof vest and only felt the impact of the bullet, which left a bum mark on his chest.
Meanwhile, ranks at the Wismar Police Station had informed the Mackenzie Police Station of the incident and ranks from that station then pursued the car.
The injured rank was taken to the hospital by police ranks at Wismar with the assistance of public-spirited citizens.
According to residents, during the shooting at Wismar, members of the public had to duck for cover as bullets were flying like the “wild west.” Many school- children, who were just returning from school, were also caught up in the fray and had to scurry for cover to avoid being hit by stray bullets.
Stabroek News caught up with a taxi driver, Clive Bellamy, whose car was fired upon during the incident.
Bellamy, who was the driver of HA 6352, said that he was just behind the vehicle when it was stopped by the police officers.
According to the man, one of the gunmen made a sign indicating that he should drive on and he did. Just a few seconds later, he heard gunfire, but he continued driving and only stopped when he was a long distance away from the station. According to the taxi driver while he was driving he realised that the left rear wheel of his car had been punctured and the car started to swerve out of control. When he stopped and investigated he observed that the tyre had been hit by a bullet and there were bullet holes in his left rear-door and his left front fender. The car was taken into the station while investigate are continuing.
It is understood that the ranks caught up with the car at Moblissa on the Linden- Soesdyke Highway and the three gunmen, while engaging the officers in a shoot-out, escaped into the bushes.
While this newspaper was on its way to Linden scores of heavily armed police officers were seen at Moblissa.
The newspaper’s vehicle was stopped by the officers and briefly searched. The car used by the bandits was parked and it appeared to have bullet holes. The policemen, some of whom were from Georgetown, were armed and at the ready and were seen scouring the area in the hope of catching a glimpse of the gunmen, who by then had apparently vanished into thin air.
Earlier, at Dora on the Highway, members of the GDF had also set up a road block and vehicles were stopped and checked.
When Stabroek News visited the Linden Hospital Complex, scores of relatives of the officers were there. Those close to Thomas were heard praying for the officer’s safety. The man’s wife, Lauvern Fraser-Thomas, had also travelled from the city to be with her husband.
The shaken woman told this newspaper that her husband, a father of four, had been in the force for the past ten years and had been transferred to Linden two years ago. The 32-year-old officer is formerly of 14 ‘C’ Tucville Terrace.
His wife, who is a coach of the country’s National Under- 15 Netball team, said she was at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall conducting practice sessions when she received the news and travelled to the mining town still dressed in her sweat pants and t-shirt.
Relatives of the man said that they had donated some four pints of blood as they were told that the officer was in need of blood. It was understood that the doctors removed a single bullet from the officer during an operation.
The man’s relatives yesterday became very agitated while waiting for the army helicopter, which took about one hour after the operation was completed to arrive in Linden. The relatives voiced their displeasure loudly in the hospital, questioning what would have happened if an ordinary citizen had been shot and not a police officer.
“Here is a police officer shot in the line of duty and more than three hours after the helicopter cannot come. This is a disgrace and the government needs to look into it. What will happen if he dies?” one relative questioned.
It was pointed out that the hospital at Linden does not have the facilities to properly treat the man who was in need of ICU treatment.
The helicopter arrived in Linden just about ten minutes before 8 pm and landed a short distance away from the hospital. And even though the officials at the hospital were awaiting the arrival of the helicopter it took them about ten minutes after its arrival to prepare him for transport, since they were forced to return him to the theatre for further treatment.
The area where the helicopter landed was very dark and its light was not adequate for those lifting the man and at one time one of those lifting stumbled and the injured cop almost fell off the stretcher.
From all indications Thomas was a well-liked and respected officer in the area as scores of residents turned up to witness his departure to Georgetown and many were heard offering prayers for his safety.
The other two officers — Henry, who is an expectant father, and Cumberbatch — were sedated and resting peacefully in the hospital’s ward. They are expected to be discharged today. (Additional reporting by Carl Thomas)
Fifth policeman dies in line of duty
Widow never thought she would lose husband so violently
By Oscar P. Clarke
Just five days before he was gunned down, Constable Rawle Thomas returned to the mining town of Linden, with no thought of being the latest victim of the current attacks against members of the Guyana Police Force.
The crime spree in the city was rife, but the young cop, attached to the Target Special Squad (TSS), assured his wife, Lavern, that Linden was safe.
The father of four is the fifth policeman to have been killed in the line of duty since the crime wave escalated following the February 23 jail- break by five men. He was just 32 years old.
When Stabroek News visited his wife at the couple’s Lot 14 ‘C’ Tucville Terrace, Georgetown home yesterday, several friends were gathered, offering comfort and support.
Mrs Thomas, national net- ball coach, said she never thought she would lose her husband of three and a half years so violently. She nonetheless considered herself very fortunate to have had him as a husband.
According to her, Thomas had only returned to the mining town on June 9, after spending two weeks at home to compete in the Joint Services basketball tournament. So when she received a call last Friday, at about 1540 hrs, while coaching at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, her first thought was that something had happened to her mother. Her sister, Paula, said “Sit down.”
The young widow said her next thought was that something had happened to one of the children. But when she was told of the incident, what started as a normal day, turned into a full nightmare by evening. A group of gunmen had opened fire on Thomas and two other policemen not far from the Wismar Police Station.
The trio had reportedly stopped a car that was trailing their vehicle and he was proceeding to investigate when the gunmen opened fire. Thomas was shot in the lower abdomen, below the waist-length bullet proof vest he was wearing at the time.
After receiving the news, Mrs Thomas immediately called the station at Wismar to confirm the report, then the Linden Hospital Complex to inquire about Thomas’ condition. The prognosis was not good. She was asked to travel immediately.
She recollected the experience yesterday as if it were happening all over again, while at the same time, attending to her five-year-old son, Rawle Jr. Numerous telephone calls interrupted the interview, and she was forced to pause and assure callers that she was “holding up.”
Mrs Thomas said she arrived in Linden at about 1830 hrs and was informed by the Officer-in-Charge that the police had already requested the army’s helicopter, since the Linden Hospital Complex was unable to adequately deal with Thomas’ condition.
She was also allowed into the theatre at the Linden institution and recalled seeing her husband lying with swabs in his abdomen. Then she noticed blood on the floor and was told that he was bleeding internally and that they were unable to do anything further and he needed to be transferred to the city.
Following a lengthy wait for the helicopter’s arrival, Thomas eventually left the mining town at 2025 hrs for Camp Ayanganna in Thomas Lands before being transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). Mrs Thomas said all through the helicopter ride, she had to be peeping under the seat to get a glimpse at the injured cop. At times, she said, he would throw his hands in the air as if convulsing. “They had to be holding his hands down,” the woman stated. At the hospital, she said, Thomas was examined at the Accident and Emergency Unit and then rushed to the Intensive Care Unit.
It was while he was there that he went into shock, requiring efforts to have him stabilised before an emergency operation to stem internal bleeding.
Thomas, his widow said, was eventually taken to the theatre at 23:00 hrs for a two and three-quarter hour operation. Mrs Thomas said the doctor indicated that her husband had a “50-50 chance” of survival.
Among the injuries identified were the rupturing of the large intestine and his bowel and a blood vessel in his right leg. The doctor also told Thomas’s wife that there would have been need for a further operation but they could not have done anything else at that time because of the amount of blood he had lost. There were also concerns about the oxygen supply to Thomas’ brain and the likelihood of permanent brain damage.
According to the widow, the doctor spelt out the seriousness of the situation to her while indicating that they had done all that could have been done for him.
The doctor had also told the woman that her husband would have been fully sedated — a state he remained in until his death.
During his period of hospitalisation it was said that he received up to 13 units of blood owing to the heavy blood loss.
Recognising that the end might be near although continuing to hold out hope for a miracle, Mrs Thomas said she stayed at the hospital after visiting hours were over. At 2130 hrs she was summoned by a nurse and given the dreadful news.
The woman said Thomas’ condition had deteriorated markedly that day. His kidneys had reportedly collapsed and his heartbeat was not as strong as before. His chances for survival were drastically reduced to 75/25 and she claimed to have noticed blood frothing from his mouth.
Although the death of her husband was expected because of the gravity of his injuries, Mrs Thomas said, she was still shocked by the manner of his killing and that he did not regain full consciousness even after the surgeries.
At the time of this newspaper’s visit yesterday afternoon. Sports nister Gail Teixeira had already visited the family’s modest dwelling. So had Mrs Thomas’ colleagues from the National Sports Commission. However, she was yet to receive a visit from Home Affairs Minister, Ronald Gajraj.
Mrs Thomas recalled her late husband’s pleasant personality and calm disposition.
The young constable who had been serving the force for the last ten years had been stationed at Linden for the last two years after being transferred to that jurisdiction from Mahdia in January 2000. The woman said she was instrumental in his move, because since their marriage in December 1998, she hardly ever saw her husband. However, he never missed a special occasion at home. “Birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Christmas…he was always there. He was the one who is always going to the children’s school to check on them,” Mrs Thomas recalled.
Thomas also leaves to mourn his sons, 16-year-old Warren, a student of St Joseph High School and five-year-old Rawle Bradley of La Premiere Academy; daughters, Shantal, 13, a student of Bishop’s High School and nine-year-old Robin of North Georgetown Primary School; his parents and three younger siblings.
Just days before returning to duty, Thomas had reportedly promised his eldest son to resign from the force. On this note, the grieving Mrs Thomas said “had it been up to me, he would not have been in the force.”