Trinidad-based pathologist Professor Hubert Daisley yesterday revealed that the three men killed during the protest in Linden last week, were all shot through the heart with what appeared to be bronze-capped rounds.
“These were metal. They were capped with bronze looking caps, almost like gold but I think they were bronze. The core of these was [made] of lead. These were not rubber by any chance, they were metal,” Daisley stated at a press conference hosted subsequent to the completion of the autopsies on the bodies of Ron Somerset, Allan Lewis and Shemroy Bouyea, who were shot dead last Wednesday after police opened fire on persons protesting a hike in electricity tariffs at the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge in Linden. In addition to the deaths of Somerset, of Amelia’s Ward, Ivan Lewis, of Wismar Housing Scheme, and Bouyea, of Wisroc Housing Scheme, at least two people were injured as a result of the shooting.
Daisley, who arrived in Guyana yesterday morning, was asked to independently observe the post-mortem examinations that were conducted by Government Pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh.
Singh, according to a statement from the Guyana Police Force, determined that all the men died as a result of gunshot injuries. The cause of the death of Somerset was given as haemorrhage and shock due to multiple gunshot injuries; for Lewis it was given as perforation of the lungs and stomach due to gunshot injuries; and for Bouyea it was given as perforation of the heart due to a gunshot wound. Police added that investigations are in progress.
Daisley, who said all three men died of gunshot injuries inflicted in similar fashion, noted that each was hit in the heart and the bullets did not exit. “Two were shot in the arterial left chest. One of those persons [was] also shot in the left leg and the right leg, with the fatal injury being in the arterial chest, penetrating the lung and the heart and causing profuse bleeding or haemorrhaging… The other one, who was shot in the lower left back and the upper left back, the [shot to the] upper left back being the one penetrating the heart and the lung was the fatal wound. The third individual had one shot wound to the … chest which also penetrated the heart and the lung,” he reported at the news conference. He further noted that the men were not shot at close range, since no powder residue or metal fragments were found in the skin around the wounds.
Police have said that they fired shotgun cartridges on the protestors after missiles were hurled at ranks, but this account has been challenged by protestors and bystanders at the scene.
When asked by AFC executive and attorney Nigel Hughes if the projectiles were consistent with pellets, Daisley responded in the negative. “No, these did not look like pellets. There might have been… the one that was lodged in the leg of the individual that looked like it was flattened out like a Trinidad ten cents, it was flat. But the other metal fragments looked like missiles from a hand gun,” he suggested.
When asked whether any of the injuries were consistent with that of a shotgun, Daisley said they did not look that way. “…In a shotgun injury, I would expect multiple shots. These were single shots to the chest,” he said, adding that the firearm/firearms used in the shootings were of low velocity.
He also ruled out that the shots were fired from an assault rifle. “[If] it was from an assault rifle, I would expect some exit wounds… it might be a handgun… let the ballistic experts examine the metal fragments that were submitted. They would be in a better position to give you an accurate answer,” he said.
Daisley added that the metal fragments in two of the cases looked almost identical and there was a little variation in the third. This, he stated, will be verified by ballistic experts, who will determine what calibre of weapon was used. “Two of them looked pretty similar. They probably had similar weapons or the ballistics expert will tell you they all came from one weapon,” he noted. The missiles were retrieved and handed over to the investigating officers, he added.
Asked whether the bodies seemed to have been tampered with, Daisley stated that there were no signs of anything of the sort. “We took off the clothing. The entry wounds through the shirts corresponded with the entry wounds on the chest. It was not tampered,” he assured.
‘Beyond
coincidence’
After the disclosure of the findings, Hughes said he was in a state of deep shock that the state of Guyana would in effect execute its own citizens. “…All those bullets went straight through the heart. That’s not an accident… it could not be an accident. I think it’s beyond coincidence that the three victims all got shot through the heart… to me the evidence is clear and it is obvious and I would expect the Director of Public Prosecutions [Shalimar Ali-Hack] to act. She doesn’t have to wait on a Commission of Inquiry. I expect her to act,” he declared.
“I can’t overemphasise the fact that the state of Guyana shot citizens with live rounds. It’s turned its weapons on the citizens and that is a very, very dangerous place to be… from the injuries that were seen, this was not for the purpose of crowd control. The fact that three people could get shot straight through the heart; [the police] were not controlling the crowd. With the exception of one of the deceased, who got shot in his thigh, nobody else had injuries to the lower body and that is a grave place to be,” he added.
When asked about the claims by police that missiles were hurled at the ranks, resulting in them opening fire, Hughes stated that even if that had been the case, it did not justify the use of deadly force. “Let’s assume missiles were thrown at the police, for the sake of argument, it does not justify the use of handguns or bullets under any circumstance. So, this story that we are getting that missiles were thrown does not justify those actions. It means if you are going down the road and a schoolboy pelts a stone at you, it’s ok for you to pull out a handgun and shoot him?” he said.
‘Back in line’
Meanwhile, former PNCR MP Aubrey Norton reiterated the call for Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee to be sent packing, while also emphasising the need to address the role of the police force.
“More importantly, we need to address the question of how the police force operates because it is clear the police force does not understand its role in terms of protection of citizens. They seem to be more brutalising,” he stated.
“I think all of Guyana [has] got to act because we started with simple police brutality, we moved to torture… and now we are at a point where the police force is murdering citizens openly and, therefore, I think it becomes an issue that all of Guyana has to take on to bring the police force back in line,” Norton added.
Chairman of Region 10 Sharma Solomon, who was also present, reiterated that police were given a five-day notice of the protest and should have put measures in place to take control of the situation. “They knew five days in advance that we were going to have this demonstration, so to make the claim that it was difficult to have that water cannon in Linden because of short notice is unacceptable because they were notified five days in advance. So, what is clear in our minds is that this was an opportunity to put down, in brutal fashion, a legitimate demonstration which wanted to get the attention of the government,” Solomon said.
Addressing the possibility of witnesses bringing forward evidence, he suggested that it may be a difficult task, since many persons who have indicated that they have the actions carried out on record, whether audio or video, are fearful for their lives.
‘Justice’
At the Georgetown Public Hospital Morgue, where the autopsies were conducted, Somerset’s mother, Margaret Somerset, said that she wanted justice because her son was murdered while fighting for his rights. She added that she identified the body but could not witness the post-mortem examination. She noted that she had observed a bullet wound below her son’s throat and she was told that he was shot to the leg as well. “I’m a sad mother,” the woman said as she stared at a photograph of her son.
Lewis’ brother, Clyde Lewis, told Stabroek News that his family is now looking for justice. “We are convinced now that they have been murdered. All the families are looking for justice to be served,” he said. Bouyea’s father, Clebert Duke, added that the government of Guyana needs to compensate the families adequately. Hughes, he said, will be negotiating.
