RETIRED acting Commissioner of Police, Floyd McDonald, who was heading the Guyana Police Force at the time that ‘death squads’ were in their prime is not entertaining any questions pertaining to that period.
In interviews conducted with TV journalist Travis Chase, self-confessed death squad member and former policeman, Sean Hinds, admitted his involvement in the underworld and disclosed that he was issued weapons from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to carry out death squad activities.
The Guyana Chronicle yesterday sought a comment from the former Top Cop to no avail as he wasted no time in slamming the phone down after this publication was identified.
McDonald was the acting Police Commissioner when Ronald Gajraj was the Minister of Home Affairs. McDonald was never confirmed and retired from the Force as acting Police Commissioner.
Hinds, in his recent revealing TV interview, indirectly stated that Gajraj was at the time the person ‘very high up’ who was issuing instructions to the death squad and those instructions were being passed on to certain members of the Guyana Police Force who relayed those instructions to him (Hinds) and other persons.
REFUSE TO COMMENT
When this newspaper dialled 226-4444, Ext 250, a male answered the phone and this reporter requested to speak with Mr. Floyd McDonald and the person responded that it was him.
When he was informed that the call was coming from the Guyana Chronicle the person immediately slammed the phone down.
Several calls were again placed to the number but the person on the other end of the line was not responding.
When this publication sought to place the call through the operator, it was directed to several other departments except the office of McDonald.
Hinds has since named several influential persons as having been directly or indirectly involved in the operations of the death squad, including a former Assistant Commissioner of Police and junior police ranks back then.
Police sources have indicated to this newspaper that for charges to be laid against anyone who Hinds would have named as being part of the death squad operations, he will need to provide the police with a statement indicating what he knows.
Yesterday the police issued a statement stating that Hinds was in their custody but was not cooperating with them. He only informed them that he had nothing to say after they posed several questions to him, following the advice of his lawyer.
By Leroy Smith