Another death in custody

Nov 29, 2014 Editorial

Just when the Guyanese people were about to breathe a quiet sigh of relief that perhaps the Guyana Police Force would stay out of the negative limelight, we hear claims of a man dying from a beating he is alleged to have received at the hands of the police.
And if that is not all, the deceased suffered his injuries while in police custody. Again, not surprisingly, the police were quick to lay the blame for the man’s demise at the feet of unnamed persons who were themselves detained in the lockups at the same time.
It has reached a stage where the Guyanese people can perhaps empathise with the protests in Ferguson, Missouri in the matter of Ron Brown’s slaying at the hands of police officer Darren Wilson. Why are we as a people allowing investigations into these allegations to founder with no prospect of the aggrieved parties getting justice? In their effort not to look bad the police ignore blatant acts of wrongdoing to the detriment of the image of the force.
We are not prejudging this particular matter, but as the saying goes there is no smoke without fire. Because of the myriad complaints about such occurrences and the fact that nothing much seems to be done about them people are wont to come forward and make similar claims, even if they are untrue.
But a look at what Soorsattie Chandrapaul had to say will shed some light on the veracity or otherwise of utterances. Soorsattie told this newspaper that when she visited her husband the very next day at the Leonora Station lockups he was battered and his face was swollen with what was later diagnosed as a broken jaw.
When she enquired about Rahim’s condition she was told by the police that his injuries were as a result of being beaten by other prisoners. Her husband told her that the police beat him; this was Saturday.
On Monday, two days later, she again visited the station where she had to request to take Rahim to the hospital under police guard. After being pushed around at two hospitals Soorsattie ended up taking her husband to the GPHC.
The situation gets worse because on Wednesday Rahim called his wife and asked to be taken home since he had not received any treatment for his injuries at the hospital. He was taken home on Thursday where he died after relating to his relatives that the police beat him and stomped him.
There are several things which should be considered in this whole disgraceful mess that the police have again found themselves. Firstly, it did not have to take Soorsattie’s intervention for the police to seek medical attention for Rahim; this should have been done when they discovered that (as they claim) that he had been assaulted while in their custody.
The police have a responsibility for the safety of all prisoners in their charge. Secondly, all persons in the lockups at the time should have been interrogated to determine and the police charge the offender(s) if indeed that animal(s) exists. Thirdly, the fact that the police waited until Monday before taking the injured Rahim for medical treatment at the behest of Soorsattie speaks volumes about policy compliance when it comes to the care and custody of prisoners.
Fourth and most significantly, Rahim, it is claimed acknowledged that he was going to die and again reiterated that the police were the culprits. If the boot was on the other foot the police would have fallen over themselves to institute a murder charge because those utterances would have been interpreted to what is known as a dying declaration.
Several things are wrong and there must be a comprehensive overhaul of the police force if the Guyanese people are to take the rhetoric about police reform seriously. Thus far, the public is being fed doses of hot air with no idea of what the police force will look like in terms of its operations and in its dealings with the people.
People are understandably fed up that their expectations are being thwarted by stonewalling and the maintenance of a shaky blue wall lacking credibility.

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