Amid public consternation and calls for the resignation of Minister Clement Rohee, the Ministry of Home Affairs yesterday expressed deep concern over the killings of Shaquille Grant and Dameon Belgrave by the police in separate incidents and said that an analysis is being done of current training regimens.
In its first public statement on the two killings which have outraged the public, Rohee’s Ministry “expresses its deepest condolences to the parents, relatives and friends of Shaquille Grant and Dameon Belgrave”.
A statement yesterday said it was the Ministry’s “firm resolve that members of the Guyana Police Force must at all times act within the confines of the law when carrying out their duties especially when it involves the use of force.”
The statement also hinted at likely changes in the force. It said that the analysis underway “would also involve the process of rationalization of the functions of the Anti-crime Units which are tasked with the suppression of crime in the country.”
Already under pressure over the killing of three protesters in Linden on July 18 by police, the manner in which Grant and Belgrave were slain by police has ratcheted up calls for Rohee to resign. The opposition parties and other groups have held several protests calling for him to go.
Three cops have been charged with murdering Grant at Agricola – two have apparently fled the jurisdiction. Grant, a graduate of a government-sponsored security programme, had been with some friends in Agricola when he was shot dead by a police patrol. Three others cops are implicated in the killing of Belgrave who was a bystander on Hadfield Street on Friday. The police had been in hot pursuit of a car and fired shots in the crowded area killing Belgrave.
Many groups and organisations have since condemned the police actions.
The ministry statement said “It is our firm resolve that members of the Guyana Police Force must at all times act within the confines of the law when carrying out their duties especially when it involves the use of force.
“The United Nations and Human Rights Standards regarding the use of force and the Guyana Police Force’s Standing Orders are instruments that must be used to guide the actions of members of the Force.”
It added that an analysis is being conducted of the current training, methodologies, anti crime patrolling arrangements and supervision of ranks during patrols. The statement said that this would also entail rationalization of the functions of the Anti-crime Units which are tasked with fighting crime in the country.
“We are committed to working along with the Guyana Police Force at the level of policy to identify the issues that may have contributed to the two (2) recent shooting incidents in particular, with a view to taking effective corrective action.
“Again, the Ministry expresses its regrets at these two (2) unfortunate shooting incidents”, the statement said.
Critics have argued for nearly two decades that PPP/C governments have failed to implement comprehensive policing reforms and that the atrocities involving police in recent years is a result of this. The previous PPP/C government under President Bharrat Jagdeo had been accused of frustrating a UK project for wide-ranging reforms of the police force. The UK subsequently withdrew its aid offer. Several reports such as the one from the Disciplined Forces Commission addressing reforms of the force have also not been implemented.
