The police force today defended its handling of the investigation into the fatal shooting of Dameon Belgrave by its ranks in 2012.
The police have come in for sharp criticism over the acquittal on Thursday in the magistrate’s court of two of its ranks for the 2012 shooting.
The police release follows:
Cognisant of electronic and print media broadcast/publications concerning the discharging of the charges against the two police ranks in the matter where Dameon Belgrave was fatally shot in Hadfield Street, Georgetown, during a police operation on October 05, 2012, the Guyana Police Force wishes to state that the incident had been given wide media coverage, inclusive of the fact that the file in the matter had been sent by the police to the Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the process of seeking legal advice.
However, the police is informing the general public of the following:
- The police acted on legal advice obtained from the competent authority and will continue to do so in the future.
- The statement of the Police Ballistics Expert was in the file prior to legal advice being given.
- The prosecutor in the matter is part of the Early Case Assessment Programme (ECAP), and operates out of the Chambers of the DPP and not from any police location.
The Guyana Police Force wishes to advise that it accepts criticisms in good faith and is continuously making efforts to address excesses and deficiencies of its ranks.
However, the Police Force also wishes to bring to the notice of the public the efforts of some sections of the media to continuously use the police as a scapegoat for every negative in the justice system.
The process forward in the Dameon Belgrave matter is for the DPP to examine the depositions and take a decision on how the police or the court proceed with the matter.