Police Force vows to avenge deaths of slain ranks

Jul 21, 2008 News

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Amidst all the celebration to mark its 169th anniversary, the Guyana Police Force yesterday took time out to remember its 54 ranks which were killed in the line of duty since the year 1913.
However, yesterday’s event placed special focus on three ranks which were killed this year when gunmen invaded the Bartica Police Station in February.
Lance Corporal Zaheer Zakier and Constables Shane Fredericks and Ron Osborne were all stationed at Bartica when the massacre occurred.
The mood was sombre as relatives laid wreaths at the Place of Fallen Heroes, Eve Leary; and perhaps the most touching sight was that of little Mark Fredericks, accompanied by his mother, Poonawattie Persaud, laying a wreath in his father’s memory.
Relatives of the dead policemen, especially those who died during the current reign of terror plaguing Guyana, were assured by Acting Police Commissioner Henry Greene that their deaths will not go unpaid.
Delivering a brief address to the gathering, which apart from relatives of the slain policemen included Ex-Commissioners Balram Raghubir and Laurie Lewis, Greene said that this year’s event was more relevant because of the freshness of the Bartica massacre in which the police ranks lost their lives along with nine other civilians.
He promised that the Force will bring all the perpetrators to justice.
“We have to interdict and bring to justice those persons who have committed the heinous act; and more particularly, those who killed those policemen at Bartica. We will spare no effort …we are not going to give up, it’s an ongoing battle,” Greene stated.
Already, the Police have charged several persons for the Bartica massacre, and have killed at least three suspects, while the hunt has intensified for the main players.
According to Greene, the killing of the policemen was without warning, since the ranks were all watching an exciting cricket game on television.
He said that the ranks at Bartica who were not killed could remember vividly what took place, and are calling for swift justice, and the Force owes it to them.
“Some of them ran, they hid, and in some cases they were dragged out like animals from behind the cupboards and shot and slaughtered right on the spot. Fortunately, some were not detected and some of them escaped. One man was shot trying to jump the fence, but, fortunately, some of them lived.”    
Greene explained that the Force has had to seek psychiatric treatment for some of its ranks who have been through battles with criminals who were armed with high calibre assault rifles.
This situation, Greene noted, has so traumatized ranks that for weeks they did not turn up for work.
“I’m telling you these things because I think we all recognize how serious a situation the Police Force is facing today. It’s not as straightforward facing a .22.

We are now facing heavy firepower and criminal elements who we suspect smoke and use drugs prior to them executing their acts. I am sure all of you here, like every other member of the Force, are crying out for justice,” the Acting Commissioner emphasized.
He called on the public for support, noting that sometimes, in the quest for justice, the Police may make mistakes.
He lamented that whenever this happens, the Force does not get the sympathy and support it deserves.
“People forget what ranks have gone through. They forget those who have been shot, killed and injured. The many civilian lives that have been snuffed out. People forget the many people who are still maimed in this society today; and when a policeman makes one mistake, I think that we need to call on you for your support…sometimes we are not that sympathetic,” Greene said.
Apart from the Bartica attack, this year has seen attacks on Police Headquarters, Eve Leary, and the East La Penitence Police Station.
However, on those occasions, no one was injured.
Gunmen also showed no respect for the Police when they brazenly shot and killed a young Campbellville resident despite the presence of a few Police ranks on Durey Lane, a few months ago. 
The acting commissioner said that the Force will not cringe or drop its guard because, the moment that this is done, something else happens and more people die.
“It is our lot and we will carry it. We don’t run, we stand up and fight,” Greene stated.
Also addressing the gathering was Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, who said that the monument at the Place of Fallen Heroes is a reminder of the danger that all policemen and women face. 

  
He stated that the best tribute to the relatives and colleagues of the slain cops is to capture the notorious Rondell ‘Fine Man’ Rawlins gang ‘by any means necessary’.
During yesterday’s ceremony, the relatives of the Police ranks who were slain at Bartica were presented with tokens of appreciation by Greene on behalf of a religious organisation. 
Wreaths were also laid by relatives of policemen, including those of Corporal James Ramsey who was killed in 1913 at Plantation Rose Hall, Berbice, by armed strikers.
Also laying a wreath was Kaieteur News Senior Reporter Leonard Gildharie, on behalf of his father, Constable Lakhram Sukdeo, who was stabbed while on duty at the Guyana Electricity Corporation sub-station at David and Sheriff Streets, Kitty in 1980.

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