Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan has admitted that police officers often abuse the use of sirens.
His remark comes in light of the deadly accident at Friendship East Bank Demerara (EBD) involving a police vehicle and a civilian motorcar, which claimed the lives of five persons.
“That Policeman that was driving very fast on Friendship (Public Road) a couple days ago, that caused the loss of five lives, obviously he was very reckless,” Ramjattan said during a radio programme.
The driver of the police car, Ronnel Barker, a presidential guard, lost his life in that accident.
CCTV footage showed that the police car had it’s siren blaring and was traveling at a fast rate of speed, going around a turn, when it collided with the civilian car which was about to come to a stop.
Curbing the issue of abuse of police vehicles is a challenge, Ramjattan says.
He referred to the incident where an officer crashed a brand new police vehicle, one day after it was handed over to the Guyana Police Force by the Chinese Government.
“I had indicated when we did the launch that any driver found recklessly driving and causing accidents, they will have to pay a penalty coming out of their salary for the repairs to the vehicle. And the next day after (we were going to fine him), his wife and four children came in and said if we deduct from the salary, these children will starve. What do you as a Minister do? Take the money and starve the children?”
