Weeks after he was released from jail on a robbery under arms charge, Adrian Bishop was shot dead by police last evening following a scuffle with his girlfriend who is said to be a policewoman.
Upset residents told Stabroek News that the 28-year-old Bishop was unarmed and did nothing to provoke the police into shooting him. He was shot once in the neck and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Hospital just before 8 pm.
It is unclear whether the rank who fired the shot has been placed under close arrest.
His girlfriend who sustained a bruise to her hand during the scuffle with Bishop was later taken to the hospital for medical attention.
One eyewitness to the shooting which occurred at Hill Street, Albouystown recalled that Bishop and his girlfriend were having a fight and the woman – a constable – went and brought the police. Shortly afterwards a bus with about three policemen came and found Bishop leaning up against a wall. The police then gunbutted him.
The resident said that the girlfriend pleaded with them to desist. “The girl say don’t lash he, don’t lash he, pass he through the court. The police end up grabbing he and throwing he in the bus and stamp he and when he (the police) done now he crack he gun and shoot he close range with a shotgun. When he done now he hole he head…” she recalled.
The resident and others who were with her insisted that Bishop did not have a weapon in his possession when he was shot. “He ain’t had no weapon. No weapon de man ain’t had,” residents told members of the media outside the hospital. They stressed that Bishop was already under arrest and as such there was no reason for him to be beaten much less shot.
Another resident said that after Bishop was shot, the rank who pulled the trigger was seen holding his head. Shortly after that he called someone saying that he had just killed a man.
The resident said they are disgusted by the actions of the police because there was a fish fry event occurring at the time. There were also children around.
Bishop’s mother and siblings were shocked when they got confirmation of his death. By the time they arrived the body had already been taken to the morgue. His mother came out of the emergency room holding his boots. She was too distraught to speak.
Bishop had been in and out of jail for the past decade. He had been charged with a number of robbery related offences. He was last in court on September 5, when along with two others he appeared in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court on a multimillion dollar robbery charge.
Bishop, Devon Forde and Junior Nurse at Georgetown with other persons on August 31 were alleged to have robbed Ramanand Jagdeo of three gold rings, one gold chain, one cell phone, one vacuum cleaner with compressor, $315,000 and a quantity of goods all together valued at $1,754,000 and one Toyota Spacio motor car number PPP 4395 to the value of $3.7 million belonging to Linda Bonita.
They were released on $100, 000 bail.
