The man who was shot and killed by police just over a week ago outside the Georgetown Prison has been positively identified as Shane Scipio, a resident of the night shelter and a former psychiatric patient.
Acting Crime Chief Hugh Jessemy confirmed the man’s identity.
Scipio allegedly attacked a police officer last Friday evening after he was approached about his disorderly behaviour. He was shot once to his abdomen outside the Georgetown Prison at Camp and D’Urban streets and died while receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).
The police had said in a press release that enquiries disclosed that early Friday evening the man went to the back of the prison at John and D’Urban streets and he began to behave disorderly, throwing down some steel barriers, in the presence of the policemen guarding the perimeter of the prison.
“He was taken into custody by ranks of a police patrol, but subsequently returned and continued the said behaviour and action, south in front of the prison,” the statement said.
A police constable, armed with a service weapon and under the supervision of a subordinate officer, allegedly came under attack when he approached the unarmed man.
“In the process the constable discharged a round, hitting him in the lower abdomen,” the police said.
Scipio’s identity remained unknown up to Wednesday, when his friend, Simpson Sandwell, visited this newspaper and other media houses in order to seek the help of the public in locating his relatives.
Sandwell said that he had known Scipio for a number of years and that he had been a resident of the Night Shelter and a patient at the GPH Psychiatric Ward.
Sandwell’s intervention saw Scipio’s photo published and televised and his relatives subsequently visited the GPH mortuary, where they positively identified his remains.
