Four months after the Guyana Police Force has found itself at the centre of a brewing controversy following allegations of vigilante justice made by a dying man against several of its ranks, the family is calling for justice, saying that they are being given the “royal run around” by the police.
The now-deceased man, Collin Murphy, also known as “Day Day,” a 22-year-old welder of Haslington New Scheme on the East Coast Demerara (ECD), and who was employed at Guyana Shore Base Inc (GYSBI), died at the Georgetown Public Hospital in April after being hospitalised for six weeks following an accident outside the East La Penitence Police Station, Georgetown, on February 13, 2023.
Throughout his hospital stay, Murphy and his family had repeatedly claimed that he was accosted and beaten by two Police officers following the accident, an allegation that the Guyana Police Force has vehemently denied.
However, in a video that was circulated on social media, Murphy can be heard describing the alleged beating to his relatives from his hospital bed, saying, “I sure they lash me up in meh head with a gun because if you watch me skin you will see it ain’t get nuff whitey like when you ride and you fall off yah bike. Is all them gun butt that they lash me up in me neck back mussy trouble me spine.”
Evade police
The incident allegedly occurred as Murphy was attempting to evade a party of Policemen, who were conducting a roadblock outside the East La Penitence Police Station. He was allegedly riding an unmarked motorcycle without a helmet on the wrong side of the road when he collided head-on with a car in oncoming traffic.
Meanwhile, the Police had said that ranks have cooperated with the family in all ways reasonable, and an active investigation is ongoing with a file being sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.
However, in a Facebook post less than a week ago, Murphy’s sister tagged several media agencies while calling for justice for her brother.
