– PCA Chairman

THE file on 15-year-old Alex Griffith who was shot by a cadet officer on April 30 is still with the Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority, retired Justice Cecil Kennard who has explained that work on the Colwyn Harding file was responsible for the lack of undivided attention the teen’s file got from his department.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle recently, the PCA Chairman said that the perusal of the Griffith case could not have been done since the Colwyn Harding file was returned to him for additional statements.
Justice Kennard related that he did not look at both files at the same time because he refused to allow two very sensitive and important cases to engage his attention all at once. He said that he took that approach to avoid making any hasty conclusion and recommendation since persons’ lives can be affected by his recommendations.
Kennard assured that it was important for both files to receive a fair level of attention and assessment so that when decisions are made with respect to what evidence would have been provided, those decisions will be able to stand up to scrutiny.
He promised that the Colwyn Harding file would have been completed by Wednesday and that was done. The file was up to yesterday on the desk of the Crime Chief.
The PCA Chairman related that based on his assessment and the amount of work he had to do on the Alex Griffith file, it should be completed today and ready to be forwarded to the police who will then forward it to the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Griffith was shot to his mouth by a police cadet officer after the cop was informed by his sister that she was robbed and that one of the robbers might have been the 15-year-old.
The cadet officer, along with a party of policemen, visited the home of the teenager and took him to the back of another resident’s yard in East La Penitence where he was beaten by the officers. He was then thrown into the back of a police patrol vehicle and later shot in the mouth.
The day after the shooting, ‘A’ Division Commander Clifton Hicken and Assistant Commissioner Balram Persaud, who was performing the duties of Commissioner of Police, visited the mother of the teenager and promised a swift investigation and swift justice. That was more than 22 days ago.

(By Leroy Smith)