As we all await the returns from the reform of the police force and the expected greater feeling of security there is much to be concerned about.
Middleton Street, where a young man, Arjune Narine Singh was mowed down by a fusillade at a checkpoint, was an example of questionable, inept and spineless policing. First, a big question remains over whether this checkpoint was genuine or was the locus for one of the famed shakedowns that some police ranks have become well-known for. At least one person who was present that fateful night got the distinct whiff that an inducement was being sought.
Typically, the police have tried to bluster their way out of this by saying that they can stop vehicles anywhere, anytime. Fair enough. However, 9.30 pm on Wednesday on Middleton Street seems suspect. There was a police contention that a defective headlamp had been noticed. Thus far no-one has presented any evidence of this. Even if that were the case, the police must now consider whether it makes sense to engage in a defective headlight stop that could lead to consequences like those on May 14.
Second, the manner of the interception and the conduct of the policemen on the scene were not becoming of the force. One uniformed policeman intercepted the lead vehicle. One would have thought that at that hour of the night, if it was a legitimate assignment, there would have been at least two uniformed policemen on the scene with back-up discreetly parked elsewhere. As it turns out there was a second policeman on the scene in plainclothes and nonchalantly hanging around the police vehicle. Moreover traffic was prevented from moving freely as a result of the way the uniformed rank positioned himself while checking the driver’s documents. This can’t be the way these checks are conducted.
Third, when all hell broke loose, both policemen it seems lost their nerve. It is a fact that dozens of policemen have been mercilessly slaughtered in recent years by the nefarious nests of gunmen who presided in the aftermath of the jail-break. However, the duty of the police force is to serve and protect. The two policemen on the scene that night failed this standard. One snuck deftly into one of the vehicles that had been waiting at the checkpoint and commandeered it despite the fact that the driver had been injured in the shooting. The injured occupant had to make his way to the hospital via taxi while the policeman drove off to the Kitty police station.
Why the rush to the police station? Was the rank concerned that his staying at the scene could have put him in some difficulties with his superiors? He certainly wasn’t going to fetch reinforcements. His obligations that night were first to save himself by taking cover, ensuring the safety of injured persons on the scene and securing help for them, summoning back-up and pursuing the attackers. He did none of these things that night. The mortally wounded man lay there for some minutes before he was transported to the hospital. Certainly the uniformed rank should have immediately taken this task on using the police vehicle which was parked nearby and was not disabled.
The plainclothes policeman saved himself by diving into a trench. He however made no attempt to chase after the attackers and it is unclear what else he did on the scene. Clearly in the moments after the attack there should have been rapid-fire dialogue between the two policemen to decide on the next course of action. There was none.
Fourth, in this age of the ubiquitous cell phone and the thus far results-less helicopters parked not so far away at Camp Ayanganna why didn’t these two policemen immediately sound the alarm and have the nearest stations throw up roadblocks to detain the vehicle? Despite the urgings of the public and the meanderings of senior government officials that the police are trying their best it is clear that the force is performing at a very basic level and lacks the conviction, determination and resourcefulness to protect Guyanese.
The force has a duty to convince the public that the checkpoint on Middleton St. was legitimate and not a shakedown. Further, the conduct of the two policemen that night should be the subject of a review by the Office of Professional Responsibility of the police force and its findings published.
As Independence is being celebrated today, the irony that the British government is involved in aiding the revamping of the force won’t be lost on Guyanese. Professional assistance has long since been urged for the force. The lingering question about this aid is whether in its conceptualization it will yield results. There is a well-informed opinion that operational reforms without infusing management change at the top will not yield the desired results. Middleton Street in all of its aspects points severely in that direction.
