Dear Editor,
After reading the news about Mr Elton Shepherd who was killed in such a brutal way; many concerns arose in my mind. One newspaper labeled the attacker as a man of “unsound mind”. I would like to know, is there not a place in Guyana where men and women of this nature can be sheltered and given the proper treatment? We have these men and women of unsound minds roaming about the streets, some carrying weapons making threats to residents. Reports are being made to the police and nothing can be done; I do not know the protocol of the justice system (if there is one) where lodging complaints are concerned. Too many times we have read about incidents where residents have made complaints to the police, and their cries are not heard.
Whatever the reason was that caused this murderer to resort to such an act of criminality it is unacceptable that the three ranks who stopped at the scene had no weapons and were reportedly unable to prevent the man from continuing the chopping. Is there a man or woman that thinks that this doesn’t look right? They stopped and had to drive to the station to uplift firearms and then return to the scene, something is desperately wrong with this! Are we not aware of the state our country is in? Do the men and women of the forces feel comfortable being mobilized without protection? I don’t know what the scene was like when the murder was committed, but maybe if the police had their weapons, they could have shot at the killer and maybe Mr Shepherd may not have had his head severed.
I think more needs to be done and another thing, these police officers and soldiers need some form of ethical and etiquette training in the way they speak to civilians and the way they treat civilians.
My sympathy to the family of Mr Shepherd.
Yours faithfully,
Collis W Glasgow
