– was shot in chest at close range
Kelvin Fraser died of shock and haemorrhage from laceration of the lungs caused by gunshot injuries, a post-mortem examination (PME) found yesterday.
The 16-year-old schoolboy was shot in the left side of his chest at close range and several pellets were retrieved from his body, his grandfather, who witnessed the PME, said. After waiting for hours, the family was given the results of the examination. Sharon Fraser, the dead teen’s mother said the pellets severely damaged her son’s internal organs and there was no way he could have survived. She maintained her son was deliberately killed saying that he had surrendered when he was shot.
Fraser, a fourth form student at the Patentia Secondary School, was killed on Monday in what police said was a scuffle with a rank who was attempting to arrest him, but relatives dispute this. The policeman involved in the incident was arrested and Sharon said head of the Police’s Office of Professional Responsibility Mohamed Jameer indicated to her that his report would be completed by Wednesday.
Sharon said that she is planning to bury her only son on Monday and while the Ministry of Human Services has pledged to offset some funeral expenses, she needs some help. “I does wake up and cry for my son everyday,” she said. She called for the policeman who shot her son to be charged and revealed that when she spoke with Jameer, he indicated that it could be until the end of the month if charges were filed against the rank.
Dozens of students and parents had called for justice for Kelvin during a protest at the Patentia Secondary School and the Wales Police Station on Wednesday.
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.
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 around 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 police were hitting students who were in civilian clothes and Fraser, since he was not in uniform, decided to run away. He was pursued until he reached Third Street, Patentia Housing Scheme where he was shot. His body was retrieved from a gutter.
On Thursday, students and a few parents protested at Brickdam close to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Brickdam Police Station. The driver who transported them as well as social activist Mark Benschop was arrested and charged with various offences.
‘Unprofessional,
irresponsible’
Yesterday, the PNCR described the conduct of the police as “unprofessional and irresponsible” and said it must be condemned by all right thinking Guyanese. “It would be expected that since it was the unprofessional behaviour of the police in the killing of a child, which gave rise to the tense situation, they would have shouldered the responsibility to appease the situation, restore normalcy and demonstrate concern for the family and students…. Instead of restoring law and order, however, the police were clearly guilty of incitement to breach the peace and of breaching the fundamental rights of Guyanese citizens,” the PNCR said.
It said the students’ demands were not unreasonable and statements from the hierarchy of the Guyana Police Force and the government have so far provided no assurance that the incident would be properly investigated. The failure by the PPP/C Administration to act responsibly in the past is not unknown to those citizens and has obviously contributed to the loss of confidence. The PNCR citied the case of University of Guyana student Yohance Douglas who was fatally shot by the police on Mandela Avenue several years ago, while three of his schoolmates were seriously injured. “Despite the public statements that justice would have been served, the accused soon walked free. It did not come as a surprise to many since it was public knowledge that, before the trial had concluded, the accused persons, who were supposed to have been incarcerated, were allowed out of the Georgetown prison to walk freely around the city,” the PNC recalled. It also referred to the case of 23-year-old Dweive Kant Ramdass who was murdered by Coast Guard ranks in the Essequibo River; “the hundreds of other Guyanese youth who were victims of extra-judicial killing; and, the activities of the ‘phantom squad’ in Guyana, which the Guyana Government refuses to have investigated despite calls from the United Nations.”
The PNC said statements of intention by the police or government will have no meaning until and unless there is evidence of action. Referring to Thursday’s arrests it asked on whose instructions were the police acting. “It was obvious to all that the officers on the scene were not in charge of decision-making. Every action and decision had to be cleared ‘at the top,’” the PNC said. The PNCR condemned the incident and reiterated its calls for urgent disciplinary action as well as adequate and full compensation to the family of the victim.
Meanwhile, the Alliance For Change (AFC) yesterday noted that there have been increasing cases of brutality involving members of the disciplined services “We are alarmed at the increasingly frequent incidents of inexcusable brutality involving members of the disciplined forces,” it said, adding that the fact that citizens now live in fear of the persons tasked with protecting them is a cause of concern. “We are forced to conclude that this state of fear is one which suits the Government of Guyana, since they have made little effort to quell it,” it added.
Emphasising that a major component of crime prevention is public trust in law enforcement agencies, it declared that this trust no longer exists and challenged the Minister of Home Affairs to deny the claim.
According to the AFC, rebuilding the trust between its citizens and the Guyana Police Force is one of its priorities. “We recognise the importance of effective law enforcement to the well-being of our country and are troubled by the Government’s failure to deliver this,” it said. “Fear and intimidation have no place in a modern society and the AFC will expend every effort toward reversing this disturbing trend.”
