Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) retired Justice Cecil Kennard says by the end of the week he will make his recommendations on the death of Adrian Bishop, who was shot by a policeman last month.
The police force’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) conducted an investigation and subsequently forwarded the case file minus the post-mortem examination report and the ballistics expert’s report to Justice Kennard.
When contacted, Justice Kennard said that he received the post-mortem report sometime last
week and found the other report on his desk on Monday. He said that he has completed his review of the first report and is presently looking at the other one. He assured that before this week is out he would make his recommendations as it relates to the laying of charges against the rank involved.
Bishop was fatally shot on September 20 after a physical confrontation with his girlfriend, who is also a policewoman, led to the intervention of other lawmen.
Police had said in a press release a few hours after the shooting that at about 8pm, ranks of a mobile police patrol responded to a report received from a policewoman that a suspect who was wanted for armed robbery had assaulted her.
“The police, accompanied by the reporter, went to Hill Street, Albouystown, where the suspect Adrian Bishop of Garnett Street, Kitty, was pointed out to them. Adrian Bishop was informed of the allegation against him and was arrested and placed into the police vehicle,” the release said.
It was stated that while being transported to the police station, Bishop attempted to relieve an armed policeman of his shotgun and during the ensuing struggle a round was discharged and struck him to his neck. Bishop was later pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
Residents have since dismissed the police’s account as inaccurate, saying that Bishop had no weapon, did not put up any resistance and that the policeman pointed the gun at him before pulling the trigger. He sustained a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead.
