It is with great consternation and resentment
that I pen this letter condemning the obvious disregard for human life by the
Guyana Police Force (GPF). The reckless actions of the ranks on the evening of October
5, who wantonly fired into the Friday night liming crowd in the vicinity of the
White Castle Fish Shop leaving an innocent bystander dead, further reveals the
urgent need for significant police reform. To have this kind of irresponsible
policing will only further erode any little confidence in the GPF that Guyanese
might have left. Together, Guyanese must vociferously condemn the GPF for their
actions last Friday night.
Why are some members of the GPF so eager to use
deadly force? Moreover, why shoot live ammunition into a crowd of persons who
are liming, listening to music and drinking? This kind of recklessness cannot
continue unabated. It is time for the GPF to take a long hard look at its
procedures and its operations tactics and re-evaluate its efficiency and
effectiveness. There should absolutely be no way for a trained policeman to
shoot live ammunition into a crowd of unarmed civilians.
The irony is that this most recent brutal
attack on citizens by a section of the GPF occurred as the Commission of Inquiry
(COI) into the shooting to death of three protesters at Linden is being
completed. Policemen fire into a crowd of limers last Friday night, about a
month after three policemen executed a lad from Agricola. And just like Shaquille
Grant of Agricola, Dameon was killed one day before his birthday. It seems as
if there are sections of the GPF that are out of control.
I urge those responsible for the management of
GPF to seek help in facilitating its much needed reform. They must seek out
world-class agencies that can strategically engage the GPF in transforming it
from the reckless killing machine it is, to one that demonstrates that it
understands its motto: “Service and Protection”.
To the family and friends of Dameon Belgrave, I
extend my heartfelt condolences.
