Dear Editor,
As a born and raised Dartmoutharian, I stand firmly with my villagers as they seek justice for Orin Boston, who was murdered by police on September 15 in his bed. If an innocent man is sleeping in his bed, police smash down his door, shoot and kill him… that looks like murder. Maybe, the Director of Public Prosecutions, or her representative, should hold a public meeting in Dartmouth to explain to villagers the difference between manslaughter and murder in the Orin Boston case. Certainly, justice in a case such as this, must include steps to provide clear information at every stage – investigation, charge, trial, outcome – to an incensed village. Agencies of the government, and the government itself, should not create the impression that they are being insouciant, when they are seriously required to represent order, regardless of whether the represented live in an area that is not a government political stronghold.
Personally, I’m cynical about whether the Orin Boston case is headed for a court or a garbage dump. The essential question about who sent the gun-slinging police into Dartmouth has apparently not been answered. The answer to that question could determine what happens with this case. Assuming the officer charged with manslaughter goes on trial, I shall be most interested in whether the officers, who were with him, will testify and what they will say. Generally, people trust police officers and other people in law enforcement to do what’s right, but I am doubtful. After twenty-seven years as a member of the Guyana Police Force, my brother, Police Sergeant Walton Brummell, was shot on February 22nd, 2003, by someone from outside a minibus window while he was on the bus.
According to reports, Walton returned fire, struggled off the bus, and died at the side of the road. At the time of my brother’s murder, I was not living in Guyana, but I read in a Guyana newspaper that my brother had managed to hit an assailant in his eye, and that assailant was in serious condition at the Georgetown Hospital. Continuing to follow the matter, as best I could from abroad, I again read that the assailant had been charged with murder, and the alleged murderer had left the hospital and was being held at Vigilance Police Station. Subsequently, I read that the alleged murderer was released on station bail. I called the Vigilance Police to ask how that could be. I was told that the man was a vegetable, and his family had to visit the station to do everything for him. Consequently, the police had released the man into his relatives’ care.
When I was able to visit Guyana, I went to the Vigilance Police Station to check on progress with my brother’s case. I was advised that the matter had been transferred to an office in Eve Leary. I went to the office and was told that the matter would soon be in court. A few weeks after leaving Guyana, I called the Eve Leary office and got no answer. I then called the Police Commissioner, and he gave me an inconsequential apology. Family members later told me that they had seen the alleged murderer riding around his village on a bicycle. As far as I’m aware, there was no trial. My brother’s case has given me no reason to have confidence in the Guyana Police, but Guyanese, irrespective of race, place of residence, political affiliation, and social standing should treat the Orin Boston case as one of national significance and pressure all authorities concerned to thoroughly pursue the truth and a just outcome.
Sincerely,
Roy Brummell
