– decry that President visited slain cop’s Berbice home, but not them
The family of Shaquille Grant says it is unjustifiable that the President would visit the relatives of the slain policeman in Berbice but more than one week after the 17-year-old was shot and killed by the members of the Guyana Police Force, they have received no word from the Head of State.
“The President go to Berbice. From here to Berbice is 20 miles, from here to Agricola is half a mile. The President has his choice. He choose whom he want to look at,” grandfather of the slain teen, Gordon Grey told Stabroek News in front of State House during a picketing exercise.
About 15-20 relatives and friends of the dead teen gathered at Police Headquarters, Eve Leary and later proceeded to State House.
Grant, of Lot 72 ‘BB’ Eccles, East Bank Demerara, was killed on September 11 at Third Street, Agricola, EBD, where Romel Bollers, 19, was also shot during a police operation. It was reported that the police received a tip off that a group of young men had been planning a crime. The police force said that ranks opened fire after they were first fired upon and that a gun was later recovered. A post-mortem examination would later reveal that the teen was shot three times.
Just three days after Grant was killed, Detective Constable 20682 Jirbahan Dianand, 23, of Lot 70 Num-ber 64 Village, Corentyne was found dead in his car, shot to the head execution-style, on the public road at Jackson Creek, Corentyne, Berbice. This young policeman had been gaining a reputation for making big drug busts. President Donald Ramotar has since visited the home of Dianand’s relatives and to the relatives of Grant, this is bizarre.
“I would like the President of this country to come out and say something to me. My son was murdered on the 11th of this month. A few days after, a policeman got murdered. The President did not come out and address me nor my relatives but he did go to Berbice. It is clear, the President, the government of this country care nothing about the youths of this country,” mother of the dead teen, Shonett Adams said.
The woman said that she needs justice for her son’s murder and believes that the acting Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell is not doing enough. “My son was executed by excessive force… He [Brumell] have enough evidence to charge these guys and put them away. Everybody must be charged because there must be an officer in charge and the guy that shoot my child was not the officer in charge of that unit. Mr Brumell till now can’t give me anything tangible, nothing close to what I need. They say the police working behind desk. It’s ok for you to be a criminal in the street and a preacher in the house? Never,” she stated.
Adams said that while she was not told of the file being sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, she finds this unnecessary since enough evidence, in her opinion, has been gathered. “I do not believe the DPP got to make that decision. When something goes down to the DPP it is to investigate. A police officer is supposed to give account for every round that he use. There is no sign of a shootout. My son don’t know how to use a gun,” she added.
The mother noted that she had also worked with the government last year on the Citizen Security Programme, which her son had graduated from, teaching cosmetology. “Mr Ramotar cannot tell me he never hear my name. He might not hear my son’s name but he heard mine. Every session, whatever career fair they had for that programme, I was there with my students and on time. Out of all the children that trained, at least from my area, my student was the best graduating student,” she recalled.
In making her point, Adams said, “a sheep cannot make a goat. If I was that bad, why choose me to be a role model, to be a mentor, to be a teacher to some children who are considered to be delinquent. What can I possibly teach them? To be a pack of thieves?”
She pointed out that her son was no criminal. She highlighted that as the Head of State, Ramotar needs to treat every Guyanese the same way.
Grant’s cousin, Michelle (only name given), said she was disappointed with the commissioner for the statement he had made last week. “You can’t say he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. He is not a bird. It’s Agricola where he born and grow. You can’t say that. That is not right. We ain’t want hear that,” the woman said.
Michelle said records should be kept of officers who are dispatched to various areas and in this case, those men should be placed before the court for the relevant actions to be taken.
“Right now, I ain’t frighten thief. I frighten the police them. Is them you gotta frighten… Not now, is years and the police always coming out with the same excuse. Every time they go in an area, they say is a confrontation. First you used to hear the people attack them with knife, people attack them with cutlass now gun. Only thing, you never hear no police dead, lie down long side the criminal. Just the people alone wha they kill is left lie down. The police don’t get no gunshot, the police don’t get no graze, nothing don’t happen to them,” the woman posited.
She added that the family will not go without justice and are determined to maintain protest and picketing action. “I gon walk everyday if is barefoot because we ain’t gon rest. I know they accustom to people coming out and then tucking in but they ain’t got no tucking in here. Even if we gotta camp out in the rain, in the night, we coming out,” she said.
