Is the Guyana Police Force doing enough for its ranks?

May 13, 2013 News

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By Dale Andrews

Throughout my career as a reporter, I have covered a number of police killings. There was that period, between 2002-2004, when almost every week, a cop was murdered in Guyana. These cops were killed in direct confrontations with criminals while the majority who were just marked for death, were ambushed and slaughtered. Some of these policemen I knew very well and their deaths have left an unnerving impression on my life.
I can hardly recall anyone, except for the mentally challenged Solomon Blackman, who had killed two policemen, and one ‘Jungle Commando’ for killing Constable Eloy Aldridge way back in 2001, ever being placed before the courts for the murder of a policeman.
It is easy for the police to call the name of a suspect whenever a cop is gunned down, and then the case is closed with the subsequent elimination of this suspect.
When this happens, the public is fed with the false impression that justice was served.

But as a journalist, I keep asking the questions- who killed Inspector Leyland October? Is it really the late infamous ‘Inspector Gadget’ whose name was linked to that murder? Who really killed Deputy Superintendent Leon Fraser? Who killed Detective Sergeant Harry Kooseram? Who killed Rawle Thomas? Who wiped out detective Adrian London? Who gunned down Outar Kissoon and Ramphal Pardat in Rose Hall? The list goes on, and there is very little comfort to these men’s families not knowing the real truth about their deaths.
Of course speculations were bandied about freely, and there were times when these speculations sounded like the gospel truth.
It brings me to the death of Corporal Romain Cleto, who was gunned down on April 27 last in full view of the public at the busy Regent Street and Avenue of the Republic intersection.
So far no one has been brought to justice, even though the head of the Force’s operations, had boasted that all stops would have been pulled out to bring Cleto’s killer to justice.
If this had happened in any other country, what do you think the response would have been?
The entire police force would have been hunting down the killers like vultures.
“If you allow these killers to feel that they can get away with killing our lawmen, they will continue to do so. We must act and act swiftly,” said a Senior Police Officer.
At present, the police have no one in custody for the killing of Corporal Cleto, having released one man who they said was a prime suspect.
They are still looking for the alleged shooter and the car that was used in the act.
The big question is: Are the police doing enough to capture Cleto’s killer?
There is a school of thought which suggests that the conflicting reports being given by Cleto’s colleagues who were with him when he was killed are not helping investigators.
And then there is the fact that Cleto and his colleagues made the cardinal mistake of attempting to confront the killer(s) alone, without alerting the several other patrols via the police radio network.
“The whole thing was bungled from the inception. The response was also bungled. These ranks made no contact with their colleagues on patrols or the Operations Room. If they had alerted other patrols when they first picked up the car, they would have had some support. But instead they made the chances of the getaway greater after the shooting,” said a reliable police source, who was a part of the initial investigation.
But whatever the case, junior ranks of the Guyana Police Force are beginning to express concerns that enough is not being done to apprehend his killers.
When all is said and done, one measly million dollars is handed out to the families of these brave men.
Then their deaths are glossed over with an annual service, where glowing tributes are delivered.
“Not even the smallest lotto don’t start with a million dollars,” a Constable, who does patrol duties in the city, told me.
And given the initial reaction of Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee to Cleto’s death, the conclusion that nothing much is being done for the sacrifices that these men made to Guyana seems justifiable.
“Rohee had said that he would kick ass, and he is proving it,” one frustrated police rank said.
“While he and the senior officers sitting in their homes with security, we have to go out there and face the music,” he added.
Very few would doubt my commitment to the men and women in the Guyana Police Force.
At one time I had contemplated becoming a policeman; maybe God knows why I did not.
And it is very painful for me to see the lives of policemen being treated with scant regard.

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