IT was high definition drama which did not fail to attracted a very sizeable crowd of spectators. Yesterday, a man who was identified a former member of the Guyana Defence Force, plunged into the Lamaha Canal between Camp and Parade Streets.
The man ran all the way from the Police Traffic Headquarters after he was informed that he may have to spend the night in the lockups.
A police source told this newspaper that the man was intercepted by a traffic rank while driving a route 48 minibus out of the prescribed zone. A check of his documents revealed that the man did not have a license for the vehicle he was driving.
Yesterday the man stayed in the canal and refused to get out, despite the pleading by those who gathered at the location. Many persons cautioned the man about the health risks.
The man continued to protest even as traffic ranks stood guard both on Cowan Street and on the railway embankment to prevent the man from escaping once he decided to venture out of the water.
The man said that he was not willing to hand himself over to the police since they attempted to beat him. The police on the scene denied this.
The man, whose name was not made known, said that he was only going to venture out of the water when a relative who, he claims, works with the police force came to the location. He further said that if she did not show up then he will come out once personnel from the Guyana Defence Force were present.
His wait in the water lasted for almost one hour until a Guyana Defence Force vehicle showed up with three personnel. As the man spotted the vehicle he began walking out of the water, even as the police stood their distance.
He was then placed in the back of the minivan in which the GDF ranks came and whisked him away.
***Saved as lockups
Caption:  Fearing a night in the lockups, the man stations himself in the canal