The city lance corporal, who on Sunday allegedly shot and killed Marlon Fredericks, a mentally-challenged vendor, after he reportedly attempted to flee custody is to be charged with manslaughter.
This was confirmed by Commander of ‘A’ Division, Marlon Chapman who told Stabroek News yesterday that the charge was recommended based on legal advice sought from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Fredericks, 33, of Tiger Bay, was fatally shot after he allegedly attempted to flee from the constabulary outpost at Bourda on Sunday where he had been detained.
The city lance corporal was arrested and he remains in custody. He is expected to be charged soon.
The police, in a statement on the shooting had said Fredericks, who was in custody at the outpost for assaulting a peace officer and simple larceny, allegedly forced his way outside of the lockups when it was opened to let out another prisoner to use the toilet.
It was then, the statement added, that a struggle reportedly ensued between the victim and the Lance Corporal, who tried to restrain him.
In the process, Fredericks ran out of the outpost and was fatally shot once in the lower back by a Lance Corporal, who was armed with a service pistol.
However, at the time of the incident, Frederick’s aunt and another relative had gone to visit him and to carry food and clothes.
Claudette Fredericks, Frederick’s mother had previously told Stabroek News that when her son saw her, he began to run and tried to jump the counter to get to where they were.
However, he was unable to do so and so instead crawled under the counter and ran out of the outpost, despite her asking him not to run.
Claudette stated that she heard a shot and thought that it was fired as a warning because Marlon turned around. However, she then watched as he fell to the ground.
She added that her sister and nephew, who were with her, had related that Marlon stumbled to the ground shortly after he ran out of the outpost and it was then that he was shot.
The family has since lodged a report at the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) after a police report on Fredericks’ cause of death contradicted the autopsy report.
The Guyana Police Force had said that the post-mortem examination performed by Government Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh gave Frederick’s cause of death as “complication to lower back due to gunshot wound”.
But Claudette had said that the report in her possession states that her son died of gunshot injuries to his chest, with no mention of an exit wound.
