-victim being given runaround by police
A taxi driver of Sophia, East Coast Demerara is demanding answers following a chopping incident that has left him temporarily without a job while the suspect is yet to be charged.
Quincy Jack, a 47-year-old driver at Elegant Taxi Service, and a chef, of Sophia, East Coast Demerara, was stabbed on December 17 by a suspect who is yet to be charged. The incident occurred at 2 am on December 17 at the corner of Orange Walk and Bourda, Georgetown. The suspect was identified and Stabroek News understands that he is known to lawmen.
Jack, in an interview with Stabroek News, recounted that on December 16, he was contracted by a regular female customer to take her home. The female customer was accompanied by another female friend. Jack explained that women were seated in the back seat of the car.
While transporting the two women, they requested that he stop briefly on Orange Walk to purchase an item. While waiting for the regular customer to make her purchase, the suspect approached the car and attacked her with a knife, but she responded by quickly rolling up the window and locking the door. The suspect then ran around the car to the driver’s window and attacked Jack, who was forced to raise his hand block his assailant’s attempts to stab him. In the process, his finger was severed along with a small section of the palm of his hand.
“The customer decided to stop by Orange Walk in Bourda to buy something by a stand. This guy went right by the stand and he come across and fire a chop at she by the window on the left side at the back window and she wind up the window. When she wind up the window he come to my window and fire a chop and I raise my hand and he slash off my little finger and it was hanging.”
Jack said he was known to the couple since she would use his taxi regularly.
The victim explained that he rushed in the direction of the Alberttown Police Station to report the incident. However, while heading to the station, he saw a police patrol vehicle and it escorted him back to the scene and apprehended the suspect. The suspect was taken into police custody, and statements were taken. Jack said the police told him to return the following morning and a police patrol escorted him to the hospital for medical attention.
The following day Jack was told that the matter had been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The CID took his statement and told him that they would reach out to him. The suspect was invited to give a statement also and was released from police custody. Jack told the Stabroek News that the officer who is second in command at the station told him that they would need to review the medical report before recommending charges.
Two days after, Jack revisited the station and was told by police that the medical report could not be found. Further, before the police had claimed that the report could not be found, Jack had taken pictures of the document.
“I keep running back and forth. The medical was there but they claimed that they couldn’t find the medical. They claiming now that they don’t have the medical and I have pictures of the medical. All they keep telling me is that they will be in contact with me and nobody never did and the man is walking on the road.”
With his hand now in a cast from fingers to elbow, doctors have informed him that the ligaments in his finger are not functioning, raising concerns about his ability to regain movement once the cast is removed. During surgery, several bones from his finger were removed, further complicating his recovery process.
The man expressed his growing frustration with the police’s handling of his case, feeling that the situation is not being addressed adequately. He articulated concerns about the suspect, who continues to threaten him while remaining at large, free from any apparent consequences. Jack recounted that his most recent visit to the police station was after Christmas, where he was once again assured that the authorities would reach out to him regarding the matter. This ongoing uncertainty has left him feeling vulnerable and dissatisfied with the law enforcement response to his plight.
The taxi driver is a father of two and is unable to work to provide for his family because of the injuries sustained to his hand. The suspect was released from police custody in less than 72 hours.
The man explained that he would also do catering services and was unable to do so during the Christmas season because of his injuries. He added that he is now dependent on his mother to provide for him until the cast is removed.