An open letter to the Director of Public Prosecution

Sep 21, 2017 Letters

---

Dear Editor.

This is an open letter to the DPP. Kindly publish.
I, Elton McRae a citizen of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, hereby request the reopening of investigations on the actions of Cadet Officer, Franz Paul on April, 2014, when it was alleged that he played Russian roulette, and in the process caused Alex Griffith to be shot in the mouth. I have read in the press on several occasions of allegations of Torture exercised by members of the Guyana Police Force. Many of these press reports have had accompanying graphic images to show the tell-tale results of the assumed allegations, yet there seems to be a difficulty to establish that crime of torture was perpetrated, and the accused charged for torture.

The continuance of the inability by our Law Enforcement Agencies to determine what constitutes torture especially when perpetrated by members of the GPF, causes me to be fearful that my constitutional rights of protection by the state are not guaranteed and I can be tortured by a Police Officer and s/he’ll not
be so charged.

Torture is a defined crime within the Laws of Guyana, a nation signatory to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Yet the agencies that are charged with its determination have in recent times appeared to abrogate their responsibilities before the citizens of Guyana. I submit that the Director of Public Prosecution make representation for further investigations into the incident in which Cadet Officer Franz Paul allegedly wounded Alex Griffith.

These investigations should be in the first instance to determine whether or not the evidence describing the actions of the Cadet Officer are enough to charge him for torturing Alex Griffith, and secondly if the evidence describing his actions are adequate to lay charges of attempted murder for the same incident. I and other citizens are fearful of a repeat of that story surrounding Cadet Paul, a classic case of Police excesses. It is clear Cadet Officer Paul broke a series of standard codes and procedures that the investigation has to date glossed over, these include
1 He was stationed on the East Coast of Demerara, yet he was the most senior Police respondent to a crime committed in Georgetown
2- As a close relative of the victim (his sister) of the alleged crime, Cadet Paul should not have been involved in the investigation
3- After he ordered the arrest of Alex Griffith he took him to a place for interrogation which is not defined as fit and proper for such activities.
4 It is instructive to note that he did not handcuff the minor
5 He is known to have drawn his fire-arm during the interrogation of the child, at a point in time when there was no need.
6 He took out all but one bullet from his weapon, place it in the child’s mouth and proceeded to play Russian roulette as he sought information.
7 He caused the gun to discharge in the mouth of the arrested child, after he squeezed the trigger the second time.

Yet after three years, there has been no statement from The Ministry of Legal Affairs, The Ministry of Home Affairs (now Public Security), The GPF nor The Police Service Commission indicating that Paul’s action was that of a rogue cop.
In all of this one has to always keep in mind that as a Cadet Officer, he has been identified for leadership roles within the Guyana Police Force. Thus to allow such blatant slippage as has been witnessed around the interaction between Paul and Griffith is either an indication that the GPF no longer adheres to these core codes and practices or that the future relationship between the GPF
and citizens would constitute inappropriate actions.

It is clear that the intent of Paul pulling up by the roadside to interrogate Griffith was predicated with torture in mind. The youthful Griffith hardly presented a danger to Paul or the other policemen on the scene. Yet Paul on disembarking from the vehicle drew his service revolver, removed all the bullets save one, placed the barrel of the gun in Griffith‘s mouth and proceeded to question Griffith. To the onlooker what is clear, is that a person wearing the uniform of a state entity was using an inappropriate method to garner information. His method constituted torture for he would have caused the questioned person to experience what can be described as severe mental pain/fear in his attempt to get information or a confession.

Furthermore, the fact that the weapon was made to discharge in Griffith’s mouth by Paul places Paul in a position of actually creating a threat to the life of Griffith. Under the law, he should also be charged with attempted murder, since all his actions until the moment the weapon discharged were willful and he knew that there was the possibility that the weapon can discharge because of what he
was doing.

The charges as relates to his noncompliance with Standard Police procedures, I hope the GPF, and The Police Service Commission find it decent to institute. The fact that the GPF found it fitting to recommend that Paul be charged for ‘discharging a loaded Firearm and causing grievous bodily harm’, to many is simply a pat on the wrist and creating a way for his continuance within the Police Force.

Elton McRae

---

---