Cops, relatives differ on how youth suffered broken jaw, missing teeth

Mar 11, 2019 News

The relatives of Shamar Tanner and police are giving different versions on how the 19-year-old Rasville youth suffered a broken jaw and had some of his teeth knocked out last Friday night.
Tanner and his relatives are alleging that he was struck with a gun by one of three plainclothes ranks who had accosted him on America Street.
But the police are contending that he was injured by a public-spirited citizen while fleeing from the ranks.
A senior police official said that the ranks were at the time investigating individuals who were robbing persons at nearby bus parks. The official said that the incident is being investigated.

The injured Shamar Tanner

Tanner and his relatives are adamant that he has never been trouble with the law. The injured youth, who works as a casual labourer, said that he fled because he had a marijuana ‘joint’ in his possession at the time.
Tanner’s version of events is that he had visited a barber shop earlier in the evening, and was standing in the vicinity of America Street at around 20:00 hrs on Friday night, when three plainclothes ranks approached him.
The youth said that he knew that the men
were cops because they had searched a friend of his earlier in the afternoon.
Knowing that he had a marijuana ‘joint’ in his possession, Tanner said that he ran. He alleged that the ranks pursued him and one of the policemen, whom he described as being “short and dark”, kicked him and caused him to fall.
He said that the same “short dark-skin” rank then struck him in the face with a gun until be blacked out.
The youth said that he regained consciousness in the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
Relatives said that he was informed that his jaw was broken. Some of his teeth were also knocked out during the altercation.
The relatives said that persons who witnessed the incident can corroborate the youth’s version of the incident.
Tanner and his relatives insisted that he had never been in any trouble with the law.
“He had never, never been arrested, never been charged,” one relative said. He is reportedly not under police guard.
Responding to the allegations, a senior police official said that plainclothes ranks, who were investigating incidents of robberies around bus parks, had sought to arrest Tanner.
However, the official alleged that a civilian, who was identified, had thrown an object at the fleeing youth, causing him to suffer his injuries.
He said that the incident is under investigation.

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