The Guyana Police Force continues to be tightlipped about a wild chase through the city on Saturday morning that left two civilians hospitalised with gunshot injuries and a host of cops being investigated including three under close arrest.
Police commander of Region Four, Senior Superintendent Phillip Azore, when contacted was reluctant to disclose any information and referred this newspaper to the GPF Public Relations Officer, Jairam Ramlakhan. When contacted, Ramlakhan stated that no report has been sent to him.
Stabroek News was however able to see the police report on the incident.
According to the report, at about 1:30am on Satur-day, three police officers who were on patrol observ-ed a large gathering at the junction of Agricola Road and the East Bank High-way. It was reported that the officers approached the crowd and requested that they disperse. It was during this process, that the ranks saw a fight ensue between two males, one of whom whipped out a gun and pointed it in the direction of the man with whom he was fighting, and who was trying to make his escape in a Toyota Axio motorcar bearing registration number PYY 4432.
As a result, one of the ranks sent out a transmission over the force network while they chased after the vehicle. The pursuit took them through South Ruim-veldt, Cemetery Road, Hadfield Street and Vlissengen Road. While on Vlissengen Road, the vehicle the ranks were in developed mechanical problems and they lost sight of the car.
The report further stated that other patrols were dispatched and proceeded to locate the car involved. Police in the patrol vehicle said to have been experiencing mechanical problems continued the pursuit based on a transmission sent out by another police patrol vehicle, which led them to D’Urban Street and Mandela Avenue. It was said by the officers in the first patrol vehicle that when they arrived at the scene, the four occupants of the car they were pursuing, were lying on the ground. According to the report, several other GPF patrol vehicles were also at the scene.
The report does not state when or how the men were shot but that two men who were injured were escorted to the hospital by the police. The two injured men are nursing gunshot wounds to their backs. The injured men have been identified as 27-year-old Winston Fraser of Lot 8 East La Penitence, a labourer, who is also the driver of the car, and 39-year-old Cecil Sampat of South Ruimveldt. Fraser suffered a gunshot wound to his upper back while Sampat who was said to be a passenger of the car seated at the left side of the back seat suffered three gunshot wounds to his lower back. Both men are currently hospitalized and their conditions have been listed as stable.
According to the report, two holes were seen in the back of the driver’s seat and three holes in the back seat of the car. One live .38 round of ammunition was said to have been found on the floor of the car. However, no firearm was found. The report also states that Mandela Avenue as well as D’Urban Street were checked for anything suspicious but “nothing of evidential value was seen”.
The other two occupants of the car were 22-year-old Joshua Letlow of East Ruimveldt and 23-year-old Seon Greenidge, a block maker. Greenidge was said to be a passenger in the front seat of the car, and also one of the two men who were involved in the altercation at Agricola Road.
Letlow and Greenidge who were interviewed, stated according to the report that they and the injured occupants of the car were imbibing at Mandela Avenue around 19:00hrs last Friday night after which they left this location and went to John Fernandes Limited where Greenidge collected his wages. It was further reported that the men then went to Agricola Road where they continued drinking. According to the men, Greenidge and another man ended up in a fight, during which time, the police who arrived in a white car asked those at the gathering to leave. The report stated that the men said when they were in the vicinity of Houston, they observed the patrol car following them which led Fraser to increase his speed. After a chase through several areas in Georgetown, the men noted that they saw the same white police patrol car along with two other police pickups pursuing them. They men recounted that soon after they heard loud explosions similar to that of gunshots behind them after which Fraser and Sampat said they were both hit. Fraser drove the car for a little bit more before coming to a stop at Mandela Avenue and D’Urban Street.
Fraser’s and Sampat’s hands were swabbed for gunshot residue.
While one source within the GPF related to this newspaper that 14 to 17 ranks were detained, another source yesterday said that the figure has since increased.
However, only three police officers are listed to be under close arrest. They are Corporal 19899 Cort, Constable 21499 St. Louis, and Constable 21447 Prince.
