Relatives of Kelvin Anthony Fraser, who was fatally shot by a policeman on Monday are disputing that the schoolboy was hit during a scuffle even as police promise a “professional investigation” and told the family the Force is not happy with the situation.
“This is not fair”, Sharon Fraser, the mother of the 16-year-old wept in a chair at her Patentia, West Bank Demerara home yesterday. “He don’t smoke. He don’t gamble. He don’t thief”, she cried as she mourned her only son. “I wish I was there. I woulda take the bullet for my son”, she said as other relatives shed tears. “I want justice…but I don’t know the rules and regulations and where to go and who to go to”, the woman said.
The rank who shot the teen at Third Street, Patentia, remains under close arrest, Commander of ‘D’ Division, Christopher Griffith told relatives during a visit to the family’s Patentia home yesterday. He was accompanied by Head of the police Office of Professional Responsibility, Mohamed Jameer. “We are not happy with the situation that exists”, Jameer told relatives. “We are doing a professional investigation”, he assured even as Sharon wept for her son. The death will also have to be investigated by the Police Complaints Authority.
Police had said that Fraser was fatally shot while ranks were responding to a report of a group of men “molesting” female students at the Patentia Secondary School. “Initial investigations indicate that the headmistress of the school reported to a member of the Community Policing Group who in turn informed the police at Wales Police Station concerning the molesting of the female students. The police responded promptly and on arrival at the school six youths were pointed out as the perpetrators. On seeing the police four of the youths ran away while two were arrested. The ranks pursued the four youths and caught up with Kelvin Fraser at Third Street, Patentia Housing Scheme. During efforts to arrest him a scuffle ensued between himself and a rank who was armed with a service shotgun which went off, hitting Fraser to his chest,” the police said in a statement on Monday. Fraser was taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Back
Yesterday, relatives viewed the body at the mortuary. Afterwards, they said that there was a wound in the teen’s back and at the base of his neck. According to them, Fraser was shot in the back and the bullet exited through the throat. Sharon also said a woman who lived at Third Street told her that the teen was shot while fleeing. Another resident had told this newspaper that Fraser “was running” when he was shot. Relatives demanded an investigation saying they must have justice. They questioned how the teen, who was described as slightly built, could have scuffled with a policeman and if there was a scuffle, how he could have been shot in the chest since the rank was armed with a shotgun, which was a “long” gun. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.
Fraser, a fourth form student at the Patentia Secondary School had last attended classes last Friday. On Monday, he left home after receiving a call at about 12:30 pm from his girlfriend. He did not wear his uniform. His girlfriend, Karen Hermonstine told Stabroek News that they were in a classroom when they heard shouting. “Everybody just start screaming. He tell me he love me and he coming back. He just going and see is wha”, she recalled. She said the ranks were hitting the others who were in civilian clothes and Fraser, since he was not in uniform, decided to run away. She did not see him again.
The mother of another 16-year-old who was detained told Stabroek News that her son was coming out of the gate when the police pulled up in a pick-up. The woman, who did not want her name or her son’s mentioned, said the police told the youths not to move but they scattered. Her son was caught at First Street, Patentia Housing Scheme while Fraser had run to Third Street. She said that when her son saw Fraser he was in the back of the pick-up, bleeding and covered in mud. Her son said Fraser was still alive at the time, the woman related. The five youths who were arrested were released at about 8 pm on Monday after giving statements.
Meantime, Sharon said when Fraser left home he told her he would be returning in a short while. She was later visited by police who asked several questions about her son and his whereabouts but did not say that he had died. “They seh your son had a lil problem at the school.
We need you down there”, she recalled. She was taken to the Wales Police Station but there she was told nothing. Sharon recalled that she had asked Fraser’s father to check with the police and he told her that her son was dead. From Wales, the police took her to the La Grange Police station and then to the mortuary and still they refused to tell her anything.
It was only upon reaching the mortuary that she accepted that Kelvin was gone, the tearful woman said. Even then the police said nothing, she said. Sharon recalled questioning the ranks who responded that only when the autopsy is done, then they will know what happened. She said her son was covered in mud and blood and she saw a wound at the base of his neck. She said that she learnt that the police who had gone to the school had not informed the officer at the Wales Police Station of the shooting and it was only when someone had inquired there that the senior officers learnt what had occurred.
‘Molesting’
Yesterday Sharon visited the Patentia Secondary School where she met with the headmistress. She said the woman told her that she had called “about one boy who was smoking” and not about anybody “molesting” students. Stabroek News attempted to contact the headmistress yesterday but she was unavailable as she was said to be meeting officials in relation to the incident.
However, teachers and students strongly denied that Fraser was a troublemaker. One teacher told this newspaper that Fraser was not one of the youths who were “molesting” the students on Monday. She said Fraser had not attended school that day and it was “unfortunate” that he had passed by. However, the teacher pointed out that numerous complaints had been made to the Wales Police Station and the Ministry of Education about outsiders coming into the school unhindered. She said that they had requested 24-hour security but their calls were not heeded. Another teacher had earlier made the same points lamenting the lack of response to their calls.
As they grieved, relatives said they want justice. “These children is not criminal. Why you behaving like that with them”, one woman said. “If my son did die some other way, I woulda sey ok but not this way” Kelvin’s father said. “My son don’t deserve that. My son don’t be in no gang. He don’t drink and he don’t smoke”, Sharon cried. “I want him (the policeman) to get locked up. I want justice”, she said.
Relatives said that Fraser was a quiet and cooperative boy who would normally spend hours on the phone chatting with friends. They questioned how he could fight back with a policeman pointing out that there were three policemen at the scene.
Police yesterday also revisited the scene and spoke with teachers at the school. Relatives asked Griffith whether they could protest about “police brutality” but he said they could not as an investigation was ongoing. He said they could protest the situation at the school. The Ministry of Human Services has promised to assist with funeral expenses, Sharon said.
