Law passed for police to use less lethal weapons

Dec 14, 2021 News

– Government hopes it will help reduce fatal confrontations

Kaieteur News – Members of Parliament (MPs) from both sides of the political divide voted in unison yesterday to pass a law that will allow police ranks to carry “less lethal weapons” such as, batons, clubs, taser guns, chemical irritants (pepper sprays). Ranks can now also use water cannons, tear gas or rubber pellets to restrain a riotous crowd or suspects.

Ministry of Home Affairs Robeson Benn proposing the new law to National Assembly yesterday.

This new law is an amendment to Section 2 of Chapter 16 of the Police Act and was proposed to parliament by Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn.
The government believes that by amending the Act, physical conflict between citizens and police, which can sometimes end with the death of a suspect, will be reduced.
In the bill that government presented to the National Assembly, there were insertions of two new definitions for the terms “Arms” and “Less Lethal Weapons”.
The term “arms” was defined to include less lethal weapons and the term “less lethal weapons” is defined to include nightsticks, batons, clubs, chemical irritants, conducted electrical weapons, Kinetic impact projectiles and water cannons.
According to Minister Benn, the intention of the bill presented to the National Assembly is to avoid circumstances whereby an officer will be forced to use a firearm to restrain a suspect, who might be resisting arrest violently.
He argued that if ranks are armed with less lethal weapons then their recourse to use firearms will be significantly less.
The Home Affairs Minister even told the National Assembly, that physical confrontations between police have been quite evident in videos that are posted on Facebook and the various social media platforms, and iterated that the use of less lethal weapons will reduce the risk of someone being seriously harmed or killed.
Sanjeev Datadin, another MP representing the government, backed up his colleague by highlighting United Nations’ (UN) research on the use of less lethal weapons by lawmen.
He said the study shows that with more use of these types of weapons, lethal injuries are significantly less.
Opposition Member of Parliament, Dawn Hastings, while making her contribution, declared that her side of the political divide agrees with the bill proposed by the government and give it her full support.
She said that it is quite true that the amendment can avoid fatal confrontations between police and citizens.
Some opposition MPs even pointed to the recent killing of Orin Boston in September on the Essequibo Coast, Region Two.
Ranks from the SWAT Team were reportedly conducting operations on the Essequibo Coast and had entered Boston’s home to conduct a search.
During the search, Boston was shot dead with a high-powered rifle. The ranks stated that a confrontation had led to the shooting, but the dead man’s relatives and residents from his community had refuted their claim and staged a massive protest.
The ranks accused of shooting him are currently being investigated by the force’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).
Boston case is not the only one being investigated. Recently, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had recommended an inquest in the killing of Peter Headley by East Bank police ranks.
Headley was shot dead in May this year, while being transported to the Providence Police Station by the ranks who allegedly shot him in a car.
Cops had stated that he was a suspect in a robbery that had taken place along the East Bank of Demerara (EBD).
These are only two of the cases where police have fatally shot suspects, while carrying out operations.
Apart from amending the section of the law that deals with the weapons police use to restrain suspects, the National Assembly also voted to amend Section 25 of the same Act.
That amendment is to empower ranks to take DNA samples from any suspect in lawful custody for the purpose of identification.