Several persons remain in custody and the Police Office of Professional Responsibility has launched a probe of the Monday night Windsor Forest incident in which three persons were struck by pellets, including an overseas-based Guyanese who is in a serious condition at a city hospital.
Police said that they were forced to open fire after a crowd – irate after police ordered the music sets to be turned off – attacked them on Monday night. Residents told Stabroek News yesterday that no one had attacked the police. However, on the road there were marks where a tyre was set aflame and residents admitted that a trailer was dragged across the road. At least three persons were wounded by pellets and several others were beaten. Thirteen persons were arrested, police said. Seven remained in custody at the Vreed-en-Hoop police station up to yesterday afternoon and several others were at the Leonora Police station.
In a statement yesterday the police said that at about 7 pm on Monday, ranks in “D” Division commenced closing down music sets that were playing at Easter activities in the Division which included the Joe Vieira Park at Schoon Ord, West Bank Demerara, the Windsor Forest Seawall, West Coast Demerara, and Kastev Housing Scheme, Meten-Meer-Zorg, WCD. During the day the police had received several complaints of noise nuisance at the Leonora and Den Amstel Police Stations from citizens, the statement said.
Initially the operators of the music systems at all the locations complied and the sets were turned off. However, at about 7:45 pm, a stereo system at the Windsor Forest Seawall, for which no permission was granted to play, started to play loud music again, the statement said.
According to the police, further complaints of noise nuisance were received and a team of three police ranks, Corporal 18372 Sherwin Smith, Constable 20724 Oswin Fordyce and Constable 20483 Kevin Fileen, went and requested the operators to turn off the music system; “whereupon they came under attack by a number of persons on the seawall who threw stones, bottles and other missiles at the ranks and rushed them and attempted to take away their firearms.”
The statement said that a scuffle ensued between the police ranks and the group of men during which the ranks suffered injuries to their bodies but managed to hold on to their firearms and arrest five of the men who were taken to the Leonora Police Station. The three injured police ranks were treated at the Leonora Cottage Hospital and sent away.
Later, at about 8:15 pm, information was received by the police that persons were blocking the public roadway at Windsor Forest and were burning tyres and other materials on the roadway and obstructing the free flow of traffic. “The police went to scene and came under attack with bottles, stones and other missiles being thrown at them and the police responded by discharging a round from a shotgun at the crowd which caused them to disperse”, the statement said. The police also arrested eight more persons who were also taken to the Leonora Police Station.
The statement said that it was subsequently found that two motor cars and a mini-bus that were parked on the Windsor Forest public road were damaged and this is suspected to have been done by persons among the crowd.
It said that members of the Police Office of Professional Responsibility were called in and have launched an investigation into the matter.
Permits
Meanwhile, according to the accounts given by residents to this newspaper
yesterday, the police had twice visited the Windsor Forest seawall to order the two music-sets blaring music there to be turned off. This was after 6 pm and sometime after 8 pm, residents said. Their orders were not complied with and residents claimed that permits had been obtained but ranks tore these up when shown.
This newspaper was told that it was on the third visit, which according to several residents was around 10 pm, that the police arrested several persons operating the music sets. Asked about the discrepancy in the times given, a police source said that based on statements given by those in custody, the shooting incident would have occurred between 9 and 10 pm.
When the police effected the arrests, irate members of the large crowd that had gathered at the annual event dragged the trailer across the road in an effort to prevent the police from leaving.
“The officers were attacked and then persons went on the road and started breaking up vehicles and so on… They then block the roads with tyres…” Police ‘D’ Division Commander, Balram Persaud told Stabroek News earlier yesterday. The police were forced to fire a few shots in an effort to control the crowd and in the process a few persons were injured with pellets, he added.
According to residents, the shot that injured the three was fired by a senior officer who pointed his pump-action rifle to the ground and fired. The pellets ricocheted off the ground and struck the trio standing nearby. Afterwards several other shots were fired in the air by other ranks, residents contended.
Three pellets struck Hansraj Ori in the neck and abdomen. Relatives took him to the Balwant Singh Hospital where he was admitted and underwent surgery. Two pellets were removed from his abdomen but doctors were unable to locate the third in his neck. This newspaper was told that he has to do another surgery and he remains hospitalized.
Ramnarine Jagroop was the other man who was shot. He was wounded in the left thigh and while one pellet was removed, another remained lodged in his upper thigh. He said that he was standing at the Windsor Forest ‘big bridge’ road, close to the bus shed, when the officer came up and fired the shot. He noted that some youths had pulled the trailer across the road and he saw no-one attacking the police. Jagroop said that a number of ranks had converged on the scene and they were cursing. He said that there were a number of children around and he had tried to assist one child to safety and it was only when he got to a friend’s vehicle that he realized, he had been shot.
He said that he was taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital and then transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he arrived at around mid-night. Jagroop was discharged at around 6 am yesterday. Up to yesterday morning, he had not given a statement to the police.
Flu
Deoram Budhan called ‘Jagan’ was grazed by three pellets. He said that he had been sick with the flu on Monday but his wife and two daughters had gone to the seawall and he had gone to collect them just around 10 pm when the incident occurred. He said that he saw the trailer on the road and the officer opening fire. He was grazed on the arm, stomach and ear by the pellets. “I see they start beat dem man and then throw dem in the vehicle dem”, he said. He gave a statement to the police yesterday.
Several other persons were injured, reportedly after beaten by police. Owner of the ‘Unstoppable’ bar at Windsor Forest, Ravi Dev said that several ranks barged in and ordered some patrons to clear out, beating them in the process. “After the incident happen out dey, dem come over here and start beat up all the customers’ dem”. He said five persons were in the shop. “Dem ah drink here, dem nah go in the seawall and dem thing”, the irate man said adding that the police had no reason to beat his patrons.
Blood stains remained on the floor yesterday, where Dev said, one of his patrons had bled. Ramdat Parbhudin was one of those who was beaten in the bar. He sustained a gash to his forehead and had to be taken to the hospital where the wound was stitched. “They (police) gone in the rum shop, tek the gun and vap, clean out the shop”, a relative noted. Dev said that the police cursed continuously as they removed the patrons and several persons were slapped.
Residents also alleged that a rank had said he wanted $100,000 to allow them to continue playing music but was offered $10,000 and this he refused. Dev also operated a bar at the seawall and said that in the melee he lost 15 cases of beer, two cases of Mackeson, and a case of premium beer.
Another stall operator also complained that stock that he had bought for the occasion was left on his hand due to the ending of the revelry. Police continued to take statements from several persons yesterday as investigations continue. A decision on charges was yet to be made yesterday, a source indicated.
