Calls were made five minutes after gunmen started the brutal attack on Lusignan families three Saturdays ago but a senior policeman failed to take action which would have resulted in a quick response, Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee told GINA yesterday.
The minister has threatened stringent action against the defaulting officers adding that some has already been taken.
This newspaper understands that some ranks from the Vigilance police station face transfers and many others will be affected in the looming shake-up at three East Coast Demerara police stations.
In a statement last night the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported that the Guyana Police Force yesterday submitted its report to the minister which reveals that calls were made to the police as the incident was occurring but that the police failed to respond in a timely manner.
Residents of Lusignan were incensed not only at the 11 murders that morning but moreso at the fact that the number of fatalities could have been reduced if the police had responded when contacted.
Rohee was contacted yesterday by this newspaper for an update on the police report but he declined, informing this newspaper that he had spoken to GINA. GINA released the statement just after 9 pm.
Rohee told GINA that it was very disappointing to know the results of the report as it related to the response of senior ranks who were on duty at the time.
“The main question is what happened between 2:00 am and 2:20 am By 2:05 the call was made and this call was received by a senior policeman and he failed to take appropriate action that would have resulted in a quick response,” GINA quoted Rohee as saying.
Rohee said the officer’s action was a serious lapse and bad judgment on the officer’s part since patrols were at his disposal but were not deployed to the crime scene. The Minister admitted hat there was dereliction of duty by the senior rank and others in the division during the period.
” .. What is absolutely clear in my mind is that strong and decisive actions will have to be taken, In fact actions on some of these ranks have already been taken,” Rohee assured.
He pointed out that the actions that will be taken will be a strict example for others adding that this will cause other to recognize what their fate could be if they fail to carry out their duties.
According to Rohee, at a time when the administration and the hierarchy of the force are doing their best, quick response to calls is essential to saving lives and should be a hallmark of the police force.
However he acknowledged that the human factor was always the weakest factor not withstanding the resources that government may seek to make available to the force. GINA said Rohee assured that the administration would make certain that the police always receive tools and other resources.
Questioned this week on a commitment made by President Bharrat Jagdeo to Lusignan residents that telephone records would be requested from the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) which would show the times such calls were made and to which stations, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon had recommended that reporters direct such a question to the president.
Lusignan residents had complained to President Jagdeo during his visit there after the slaughter, saying that they had called the police but were given other numbers to contact other stations and it was only an hour after the whole ordeal that the police turned up. In response Jagdeo had told some residents whom he met the day after the killings that call records would be requested from the telephone company, following which investigations would be conducted.
Hours after the most horrifying mass murder in 30 years, President Jagdeo had also told reporters at a press conference that he learnt that the anger of residents stemmed not only from the criminal act but also the police response. Jagdeo had said that based on comments from residents with whom he spoke, the police had not arrived in time after they received calls informing them of the criminals’ rampage.
Late response by the police to major crimes has been a recurring issue over the last decade in particular.
