A man was admitted to the hospital on Friday evening after he was shot to the abdomen by a police officer, who was responding to a report of domestic violence at Itaballi Check Point.
The injured man was taken to the Bartica Hospital by the same policeman who shot him, and was later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where he is being treated. His condition is listed as serious but stable.
The policeman subsequently escaped, but has since been arrested.
The police said in a press release that around 8pm on Friday, a mother made a report at the Itaballi Check Point that her daughter was being assaulted by her reputed husband.
As a result, the subordinate officer in charge sent a constable to the scene with the woman. The constable was armed with a service firearm.
The statement said that when the police constable arrived at the scene, he contacted the alleged assailant and an argument ensued between them. “Eyewitnesses claimed that the policeman struck the assailant on his head with the firearm and he fell, after which it is further alleged that the policeman discharged a round at the assailant, hitting him in the upper chest,” it further said.
It added that the constable was located around 6 am yesterday with the firearm still in his possession in the vicinity of the Tiperu Crossing and was arrested.
According to the statement, a separate probe is being undertaken by the Office of Professional Responsibility into the purported breaches of standard operating procedure in relation to the report.
Several efforts made by Stabroek News to contact the relatives of the victim proved futile.
