POLICE are searching for a police corporal implicated in the shooting death of 49-year-old Ralph Turpin, a former Drug Rehabilitation Counsellor, shot to the head and killed early Thursday morning, as he attempted to make peace between warring factions at a food stall on Cornhill Street, outside Stabroek Market in the city.
Ralph Turpin, of Agriculture Road, Triumph, East Coast Demerara, who was shot around 03:00 hrs on Thursday, was rushed to the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Turpin, an experienced counsellor, who formerly worked with the Salvation Army’s Drug Rehabilitation Programme in Kingston, about three years ago took up appointment with the Ministry of Health’s Phoenix Recovery Programme and was known to have made a significant contribution to reforming the lives of many a substance abuser over the years.

The man, who was in the business of changing lives for the better, following his involvement with the Salvation Army, dedicated the rest of his life towards helping substance abusers overcome the habit and live meaningful lives as citizens of worth.  As a renowned counsellor, he was a stickler for discipline and would never stand idly by and see advantage taken over another person.  He lived by this virtue to the time of his death, since the police report confirmed that he died ‘going to make peace’.

The police admitted that, while the suspect implicated with the shooting death has been identified, he has probably gone into hiding, since they have still not found him.
Investigations revealed that on the morning of the incident, a senior police officer and his wife went to purchase food at the Stabroek Market, during which there was an altercation involving females near the food stall.

It is alleged that during that altercation a man chucked one of the females, and Ralph Turpin who could not condone what he saw, cautioned the male aggressor in an attempt to make peace. At this, he was allegedly shot to his head by the man who further placed a gun to the head of one of the females involved in the dispute.

The police have since made checks to locate the policeman who is implicated in the matter, but late yesterday he has not been located.

Meanwhile, the senior officer and his wife are assisting the police with their investigations.