The Guyana Police Force yesterday denied abandoning constable Samuel Elvis, who was shot on duty by another rank and later had his leg amputated.
Public Relations Officer Ivelaw Whittaker, in a statement issued yesterday, said the force “categorically refutes” the allegation levelled against it by Elvis and added that the force has in fact responded very positively in the situation in keeping with the force’s policy.
In an interview with Stabroek News, Elvis had said he was yet to receive word from the Guyana Police Force about his future or the action against the officer who shot him.
“No one has told me anything. I don’t know my status as yet,” he said, before adding that he was told that the matter was being dealt with by the Police Welfare Office. However, he said, when he contacted the office he was instructed that the matter was under investigation and that someone would call him. The call never came, he said.
I don’t think it’s fair. Nobody ain’t telling me anything, like they forget me,” he said. “I was loyal to them and now when something happen to me and I can’t serve them, they abandon me,” he added.
Elvis had been shot by another policeman on March 20, 2014 and was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital. He was subsequently transferred to the Woodlands Hospital where he underwent surgery to amputate his leg.
Whittaker stated that Elvis was readmitted to the hospital after he did not follow medical advice and the wound in his leg became infected. He was readmitted on May 19 and discharged on June 6.
The force has since paid all his medical bills from the day he was injured to present while cognisant that a percentage would be refunded through the National Insurance Scheme, Whittaker said.
He further stated that during Elvis’s period of hospitalisation, Police Welfare ranks had visited him on a daily basis and his needs, outside of his medical treatment, were met through the police force.
Elvis had levelled claims that the no member from the force had visited him. But Whittaker, in the statement, said that this was untrue since the rank met with the acting Police of Commissioner Seelall Persaud and Assistant Commissioner in charge of Administration Balram Persaud on separate occasions.
Whittaker asserted that Elvis was promised that he would remain a member of the force and that he can return to work as soon as he recovered from his injury. “Constable Elvis continues to receive his full salary from the Police Force,” he said, adding that the force was making efforts to acquire a prosthetic leg for him after his foot has healed.
He also said Elvis was given the assurance that the investigations into the situation, which had been obstructed for a while because of a statement from him, would be completed and legal advice sought. The investigations, Whittaker said, have been completed and legal advice is being sought.
“It should be noted that during the discussion, some request were made for monies which the Guyana Police Force cannot lawfully meet and it was also stated that there was some negotiation for a compensation with the rank who had discharged the round that caused Constable Samuel Elvis’s injury,” he said.
He added that the force “takes with a pinch of salt” that the allegation that when Stabroek News contacted the Police Welfare Office, it was told that the matter was not being handled by the office. It also advised the media that the persons authorised to interact on police related matters are the Commissioner of Police, the Crime Chief and the Public Relations Officer.
However, Stabroek News did contact the Public Relations Office and was told to call back because Whittaker was unavailable. When Stabroek News contacted the office a second time, it was told that he was not in office. A third attempt to reach him on matter was also futile. When the Crime Chief was contacted in the past on the issue, Stabroek News was told that the matter was being dealt with by the Welfare Office.
