On March 10, political activist Courtney Crum-Ewing was gunned down in the Diamond Housing Scheme as he used a bullhorn to urge people to vote against the ruling party at the upcoming elections. On the night of the killing and in the days that followed the Ministry of Home Affairs and President Ramotar urged that no stone be left unturned by the police in solving the case. The President’s injunction was unfortunately tainted by his subsequent description of Crum-Ewing’s civism and advocacy as a “nuisance” and by also comparing the flag draping of his coffin with that of the bandit Linden London.
Civil society has reacted with revulsion to the murder and has also pressed the police for determined action, all the while noting the chilling effect the killing could have on fundamental societal freedoms. These entreaties have been to no avail. Twenty days have elapsed and the police are yet to convince the public that they have the wherewithal to solve this heinous murder or the will to do so.
One patent gap in the police force’s investigation thus far is its unwillingness or incapacity to interview two government-connected persons who Crum-Ewing had told his relatives had threatened him over his protests outside of the office of Attorney General Anil Nandlall, and which led to him lodging a complaint with the police. It may be the case that neither of the persons had anything to do with the killing of Crum-Ewing, however the completeness and the integrity of the investigation requires that these two persons be questioned, otherwise the police will be perceived as ignoring this obvious lead to avoid embarrassment to government, further strengthening the view that criminal investigations can be easily compromised by the political directorate. It may be that the police have already spoken to these persons – the force has said that eight persons have been questioned and released.
If this is the case, well then, the police must make this known to the public and convey as much information as they can on the investigation to the parents of Crum-Ewing.
A much larger and intractable problem in the solving of this crime is the obvious investigative shortcomings of the force coupled with poor intelligence gathering on the ground. These chasms in local policing have been commented on for many years without the PPP/C government taking them on in a structured manner.
Another obvious element of the investigation which has not yielded much information is the ballistics details. More than one weapon might have been used in the murder and there should be sufficient information from empty casings, warheads, etc, for the police to act on and attempt to match these with the current database. Where it may be necessary, the government should urgently seek the advice of a ballistics expert from the Caribbean in the interest of maximizing the utility of the clues available.
Almost six years ago, the Guyana Government signed an eTrace agreement with the US to track illegal weapons, but very little has been heard about the success in determining where these firearms originate from. A firearm marking agreement in 2011 as part of a hemispheric initiative should have also helped to ease the burden of illicit weapons. What is evident is that guns continue to proliferate for the purposes of ‘hits’, etc, and one such was used to end the life of Crum-Ewing.
While the police say they have interviewed eight persons without anyone being charged it is an extremely poor return for a gruesome murder filled with many potential leads. At least four persons were at the scene of the murder. This number doesn’t take account of others who might have been aware of the crime. A vehicle was used to transport the killers to the scene of the crime and to carry them to safety after the murder. The weapon/s used would also have had multiple points of contact.
All of these elements taken together offer rich leads to the police force had it been adequately gathering intelligence from the ground, using undercover assets and undertaking professional interrogations. It is mind-boggling that with all of these opportunities the police are yet to make a breakthrough. Three weeks on, four murderers are sitting smugly knowing that with the days going by the chances of linking them to this crime grow remote.
Didn’t the police have a plan specific to the Diamond Housing Scheme for tackling crimes like the one that snuffed out Crum-Ewing’s life? More precisely as it related to cutting off escaping vehicles at one of the choke points or positioning cameras for useful images? Policing is in such a dire state that as a reflex action citizens were sceptical that anything would come of the Crum-Ewing case. The failure thus far to solve this crime is another blot on the very inky record of the police. There must be a realization by the government and certainly by the one that will be in place after May 11, that it cannot be business as usual as it relates policing. The security of citizens has been put at risk for too long.
