Declaring that it is time for accountability in the country, A New and United Guyana (ANUG) yesterday called for a Coroner’s Inquest into the death of Orin Boston at the hands of the police on September 14th at Dartmouth, Essequibo Coast.
Boston’s killing triggered protests at Dart-mouth and the government and the police have come under pressure to provide answers as to what the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team was doing when it stormed into his home and shot him in his bed.
ANUG, which is part of the list joinder that holds one seat in parliament, noted that the ‘operation’ in question came at around 2 am after the SWAT team had broken into several homes including that of another man, Orin Klass, a father of five and traumatized his family.
“The third house the SWAT team went to was that of Orin Boston, at around 4:00 am. The SWAT team broke down his door and, in front of his two children, shot him in the chest with a rifle, killing Orin Boston, who had been asleep in the sanctuary of his bedroom. The police gave an account of a ‘confrontation’, but his widow said he was shot in his bed. The public has no illusions concerning a ‘confrontation’ between an unarmed man and twelve heavily armed Special Weapons and Tactics specialists who broke into his home at 4:00 am.
“The Police had no warrant to enter or search Boston’s premises. They had no warrant to arrest Boston. They had no body cameras. They acted in the middle of the night”, ANUG said.
Noting that the police had issued a statement pledging an impartial and professional probe, ANUG said “Guyanese take no comfort from any police statement that a police investigation would be undertaken by the Office of Professional Responsibility. Such investigations have been promised before; an investigation by police of police is an invitation to cover up”.
The party said that it took four days for the Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, to issue what it said was a vague statement about a review of the Police Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) only for retired Assistant Police Commissioner, Clinton Conway to state that no such Procedures existed for the SWAT team. ANUG said that there has been no further communication from the Minister.
“No reasonable Guyanese will take comfort from Minister Benn’s disinterested and clearly uninformed response”, ANUG stated.
In a letter to Stabroek News on September 24 referring to Benn’s statement, Conway said “There is no written SOP in place for the Police SWAT Squad. However, I wish to refer to a SOP which is extremely relevant to the investigation of the killing of Orin Boston. It should be the guiding principles for the investigators. It is a necessary guide to be used to decide whether or not the fatal shooting of Orin Boston by the police was justified. The SOP is entitled, `When you may fire’ and it relates to the use of firearms by members of the Guyana Police Force. It was first published in the Police Force Orders 33/69 and then enshrined in the Police Standing Orders No 18 paragraph 31”.
ANUG noted that the latest information is that a file has been sent to the Police Complaints Authority for review.
“That Authority is created to investigate complaints made against members of the Force. But its proceedings are confidential – not open to the public. Every Guyanese knows that absence of transparency leads to corruption and injustice”, the party said.
ANUG called for a Coroner’s Inquest to be conducted into Boston’s death. The Inquest should be conducted by the district magistrate as coroner, the party said, adding that the coroner is empowered to summon reputable residents of the neighbourhood to act as jurors during the inquest, and to subpoena witnesses and hear evidence.
It said that the Coroner’s Inquest should be open so that the public, the media and the entire country can be advised of the following: (i) what ‘intelligence’ the SWAT team acted on to break into Boston’s home; (ii) why they did not have a search warrant to enter the premises; (iii) whether their forced entry into those premises was lawful; (iv) what circumstances necessitated the use of deadly force by twelve trained and armed men to subdue one man in his bedroom.
ANUG said that the Coroner’s finding should advise whether a crime has been committed which should be prosecuted.
“A New and United Guyana wants to be clear: if the entry into Boston’s home was unlawful, his death may be murder, and should be prosecuted as murder. If the use of deadly force by the SWAT team was not justified in the circumstances, his death may be murder, and should be prosecuted as murder, just as (US) police officer Dereck Chauvin was charged with the murder of George Floyd.
“It is time for there to be accountability in Guyana. There have been enough cover ups. This time, justice must be seen to be done for Orin Boston”, the party said.
