[www.inewsguyana.com] – The abject failure to lay charges both criminal and departmental against all of the officers involved in the illegal detention, torture and shooting in the mouth of 15 – year – old Alex Griffiths, twelve days ago, is a major set-back for those hoping that the new leadership of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) intends to pursue more robust action against errant police officers than their predecessors.
This is according to the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) who further posited that this message by the Police is telling the public that protecting the criminals in their midst is a higher priority than protection of the public.
According to the GHRA, the circumstances of the case as reported in the media have not been challenged by the Guyana Police Force and as such it is believed that the delay in pressing charges is not rooted in complex investigation, it is driven purely by an unwillingness to face up to the presence of rogue elements among its cadet and other officers.
“Had charges been laid promptly against all involved, the new leadership of the GPF would have emerged with considerable credibility. What they have in fact achieved is to undermine, at a stroke, their own efforts to create good will in communities, exposing, for example, the initial campaign in Albouystown to be little more than a PR job,” the GHRA added.
The Association said from all indications it appear the police do not intend to pursue this matter criminally.
“All the signs are evident that a cover-up has been set in train: the main culprit has been released from close arrest on the excuse that the police know where to find him.”
The failure of the new Force leadership to recognize the consequences for recruitment of protecting officers with psychopathic tendencies is astonishing, to say nothing of the decent ones who must now be re-assessing their future in the force, the body said.
The GHRA has called on the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to exercise her authority to ensure that appropriate criminal charges are promptly laid.
