Dear Editor,
I AM a senior citizen of Corriverton, and I am very troubled and disgusted by the actions of a policeman at the Springlands Police Station who, instead of serving and protecting, chose to violate the human rights of my grandson, Andrew Lewis, a decent, law abiding citizen.

After his rogue behaviour was reported, the officer now stalks my grandson at nights with a gray car, and quite recently with a white hire car (number provided). This man is very dangerous.

On Friday, September 11, 2015, at about 23:50 hours, this police officer attacked, kidnapped, brutalised, traumatised, humiliated, wrongfully arrested, and threatened to kill my 23-year-old grandson Andrew Lewis, an electrician at the Skeldon Estate.

Andrew left his residence early Friday morning to reach at work at Skeldon Estate for 07:00 hours, and he finished working at 20:00 hours that evening. He then stopped over at my residence at Princetown, a home he grew up in, to use the WIFI Internet service. This is a usual practice for him, since there is no telephone service in # 76 Housing Scheme. The policeman and his accomplices, two African men, were in a gray car that was driven by one of the African men. At the time, Andrew was riding his bicycle to his residence in the new # 76 Housing Scheme. There is no light in the scheme.

When he was almost home, this dark gray car suddenly drove by and blocked the entrance to his street. The occupants of the car came out, and the man, whom we later learnt is the policeman in question, ordered him to come off his bicycle.

He thought they were bandits because he had never seen any of them before. The policeman was very aggressive, and pushed his hands into Andrew’s pocket and took his wage, which he had withdrawn from the bank. He seized Andrew’s haversack, which had his green GUYSUCO overalls. He also took his chain and cell phone and placed his bicycle in the car trunk. Next, the policeman ordered Andrew to go into the car, and he threatened to kill him.

While in the gray car, the policeman began to cuff Andrew in the head and behind the neck repeatedly. He also cursed him as he brutalised him, and continued with his threat to kill him. At that stage, the policeman accused him of having just ‘broken and entered’ his house.

They then drove him further into #76 Housing Scheme, and stopped in front of a house; and the policeman informed Andrew that Andrew had just ‘broken and entered’ that house. They then drove the gray car to Springlands Police Station, where the policeman alone came out with him and commanded him to strip and remain in his briefs. The policeman then placed him in the cell, where he remained for over 12 hours, tired, hungry and thirsty.

Andrew repeatedly asked a constable (name provided) to telephone his mother at #76 Housing Scheme or his grandmother at Princetown, but that constable completely ignored him throughout the night. (His mother thought he had stayed over at me that night.) My grandson had to drink water from one of the prisoners in the cell.

It was only at 10:00 hours on September 12 that a policeman, (name provided) informed us that Andrew was in the cell. When my daughter and I arrived, a policeman (named) was in the process of taking Andrew’s fingerprints while a rural constable (named) who was with that policeman had earlier accused Andrew of stealing with some man called ‘Bullah’. The policeman taking his fingerprints restrained my grandson from talking, but Andrew revealed that he had been was attacked and beaten by an East Indian man while he was almost home, and was brought in a gray car and placed in the cell.

The rural constable then took him back to the cell.

My daughter telephoned the Minister of Public Security, who assured her that he would contact the Commissioner. We then visited an attorney-at-law, who immediately telephoned the officer-in-charge of Springlands Police Station.

We went back to the Springlands Police Station and met the officer-in-charge, who claimed that he had no knowledge of the problem. However, it was not until about 11:40 hours that Andrew was taken out of the cell and we were able to give him his first meal of the day. He was very traumatised and could not eat, yet the police chose that moment to take a statement from him.

As he related what transpired, he identified his attacker, who was walking into the compound. An inspector, a traffic officer and a constable (all named) just looked and remained silent. We asked the identity of this attacker, but instead of answering, the inspector began to raise his voice to distract us, telling us that we had no right to talk at the station.

We asked that Andrew receive medical attention and the police complied. When we arrived at Skeldon Hospital, one of the nurses exclaimed that Andrew was the third person to visit the hospital as a result of police brutality on the night of September 11th. He received tablets from the hospital and was advised to put ice compression at the back of his head.

When the police took him back to the station, the officer-in-charge had left, but he had instructed that a rank should have Andrew sign a recognizance and should visit the station on Monday, September 14th, so that he could speak with him.

We took Andrew to Doctor Persaud, a private doctor, where he received an injection and tablets and paid a fee of $6,000. He had to take seven days’ medical leave with effect from Saturday, September 12th.

On September 14th, the officer-in-charge informed us that he wanted Andrew to return in order to know how he was feeling. He disclosed, too, that a certain officer from Whim Police Station would investigate the issue.

Twice this officer-in-charge fooled us that an inspector would come to investigate the matter. To date, we have not heard anything from the officers of the Guyana Police Force, and the policeman has now begun to stalk my grandson at nights. Thrice he drove his car behind him.

He usually changes directions and trails him. This policeman is very dangerous and is a threat to society. I am calling on Minister of Public Security, Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan, to thoroughly investigate this matter.

Yours faithfully,
Shirley Hooper