Linden Town Day overseas visitors beaten by police

Apr 30, 2012 News

Irate relatives of two overseas-based Lindeners, who were early Friday morning brutalized by ranks attached to the Mackenzie Police Station, are calling for action to be taken against the perpetrators who they claimed operate as though they are in the ‘wild, wild west’.
According to reports, the two men, 34-year old Tyrone Evans and his 29-year old brother Delon, who are citizens of the United States of America, were allegedly physically assaulted by the police while they were hanging out on Republic Avenue in the wee hours of Friday morning.
The men had returned to Guyana to celebrate the Linden town Week.
But the reception they received left much to be desired as they were ‘targeted’ by two plain clothes ranks, who along with their colleagues, reportedly beat them and threw them into the lockups at Mackenzie.
The altercation stemmed from one of the ranks alleging that Delon Evans had snatched his gold chain from his neck, bursting it in the process.
According to Delon Evans, he was hanging out with his brother and other relatives on Republic Avenue, Linden, when he observed his nephew in an altercation with another man, who was brandishing a machete.
Delon related that he subsequently walked over to the two, accompanied by his brother Tyrone, to see what the fracas was about.
“Right away a man in a hire car drove up hitting me with the car. He then got out of the car and fired two shots in my direction, but missed me. I was then held by my hair by another man, while the other ranted that I had snatched his chain. I knew nothing about that. Meanwhile, people were saying that these men were police, but the men never identified themselves. But then they started to say that they were going to kill us, how they will take us on the back road and kill us. They then told us to get into two separate cars but we refused, because the people who were around witnessing everything, shouted to us not to, because these men had already threatened to kill us,” Delon Evans told this newspaper.
The brothers said that they walked to the station followed by the police and several persons who had witnessed the incident.

Tyrone Evans’ blood stained shirt is evidence of the beating he allegedly received at the hands of the police.

However, before leaving for the station the policeman, who had fired the shots at Delon Evans, reportedly handed the gun to a man in a yellow taxi.
“While in the station one of the officers, the same one that had fired the shot, took me by the hair and held me, while his colleagues started to beat me. He kept talking how he had killed twenty people, and that me and my brother will bring it to twenty two. These men were under the influence of alcohol, because they had been drinking at Chicken’s Bar, but yet they were arresting us for something we knew nothing about. It had to be a set up, because at first he said that the chain which he claimed I had snatched was one penny weight, then he said one and a half, then later two penny weights, which he claimed cost $500,000,”Tyrone Evans reported.
According to the man, the rank said that he is due to leave the country for the US sometime around the 5th May, and that he has worked long and hard and was never rewarded for the twenty heads he took.
Delon Evans said that he lost his wallet with approximately $1000US along with his credit cards and a blackberry phone. These, he said, the police cannot account for.
Apart from being beaten by at least seven or eight ranks, Tyrone Evans said that he was gun butted by an officer known as ‘Not Nice.’
“All the while they were beating me I held unto the fence, because I knew if I let go they would throw me to the ground and stamp me and probably break my ribs. But my ribs are not broken, but I’m in severe pains. I am not going to let this go down like this, if I have to extend my stay here in Guyana, I’m going to do it, I have to get justice for this,” Tyrone Evans declared.
Meanwhile an eyewitness reported that the policeman who had claimed that his chain was snatched, had given the piece of jewellery to his wife, who was at the time, sitting in the same car that he drove up in.
“These police they just set out to rip off these guys. They see them with their dreadlocks and probably mistake them for these Rastas here that they does harass for money. It ain’t easy with them; they always harassing people for money, and when you can’t give them, they targeting you. We need to have strict laws to deal with these dirty cops. A lot of people does be looking at the flat foot in the street, but these police they doing a lot of dirty work and getting away with it,” the eyewitness said.
The brothers were later released after relatives reportedly paid $40,000 in station bail.
So far Delon and Tyrone Evans have not been charged with anything.
The two brothers stated that they have been returning to their hometown of Linden on a regular basis, because they have been investing and employing their fellow Lindeners, as a way of giving back to the community.
“Now this kind of behavior from the people that we expect to protect and serve us is very discouraging. This type of behavior would chase people instead of encourage them,” a relative disclosed.