Saturday night fun ended early yesterday morning for a group of young men, who were driving around in a car owned by a police officer, after they collided with another vehicle at Camp Street and North Road.
The white car, with the name “Anthony” printed on the front windscreen, was carrying a part of the owner’s police uniform and the driver of the vehicle reportedly had an illegal firearm in his possession. However, poor response from an Impact Unit Patrol resulted in police being unable to recover the firearm.
An investigator has since told Stabroek News that the three men, including the 22-year-old driver of Canal Number One, West Bank Demerara, remained in police custody up to late last night. The driver, two friends and a policeman were in the vehicle. Shortly after the collision the policeman disappeared from the scene and efforts are still being made to locate him, the investigator said.
Hours before the collision the four men were reportedly drinking at a popular night spot on Waterloo Street. Some time before 4.30am the men left the night spot and were proceeding west along North Road.
“When this car reach the party store just before where North Road intersects Camp Street it sped up and slammed right into another car which was proceeding along Camp Street and pitch it into the trench before slamming into an electricity pole,” an eyewitness told Stabroek News yesterday.
The witness, who requested anonymity, said that he had just left a nearby club when he saw the collision. After the impact, he recalled, he immediately ran over to the vehicles, peered inside to see that everyone was alright, and prompted the four men together in the car to come out.
“One man alone was driving the other car,” he said, “and efforts were made by other persons to take him out and he was taken to the hospital…as far as I know he was not seriously injured.”
When the driver of the white police-owned car got out from the vehicle, the witness alleged, he continued to look inside to check on the other three and noticed a gun on the driver’s seat.
“After I ask him [the driver] if is his gun and he tell me yes and he put it in his pocket and then when I asked him if he had a licence for the gun he told me that it was his brother’s gun,” the witness said.
By that time, the witness recalled, a crowd had gathered at the location and the four men started arguing with several persons there to keep away from the scene. An Impact Unit police patrol subsequently passed the area and the witness said he called out to the ranks.
“Imagine these police drive right by this crowd and didn’t stop to see what was going on,” he reported, “and I had to ask them what was the matter with them and then they stopped and after that it took them like half an hour before they got around to doing anything.”
While the ranks from the impact unit “hung around the scene”, the witness alleged, the driver who had the firearm in his possession managed to slip away from the scene for about 30 minutes and was later found sitting in the vicinity by traffic ranks.
“This man [the driver] tried to lie to the police and tell them that he wasn’t involved in the accident that somebody rob him and lash him in his head but I identified him and later they took him and the two other guys to the station. The policeman who was in the car with them refused to go and left the scene,” the man said.
The vehicle, this newspaper has since learnt, is owned by 20743 – Ramlall. Even if Ramlall had lent his vehicle to relatives or friends, a senior police source told Stabroek News last evening, he should have taken his uniform shirt, badge and hat from the car. These items were in the trunk of the car.
“We are investigating this whole thing especially the allegations made about one of the men having a gun in his possession,” the source said.
