CHAIRMAN of the Police Complaints Authority, Justice Cecil Kennard has said that he will continue to recommend criminal charges for members of the Guyana Police Force who use excessive force based on evidence to support such claims.

In an interview, Justice Kennard referred to the three most recent cases where the police were accused of abuse of power and the use of excessive force.
Justice Kennard pointed to the cases of Colwyn Harding, Alex Griffith and Junior Torrington, all of which he said had evidence to show that excessive force was applied.
The retired judge told this newspaper that he recently wrapped up two outreaches in Essequibo and Berbice, and at both events the issue of excessive force was addressed. He said that he told officers that whenever they use excessive force and it is widely carried by the media, the entire population will condemn their actions.
According to him, excessive force does nothing good to the image of the Guyana Police Force, and he warned that despite how difficult a prisoner may appear or how violent he or she gets, minimum force must always be applied.
Meanwhile, with respect to the case involving the torture of Junior Torrington, the young man who was burnt on his hands by a rank at the Sparendaam Police Station, Justice Kennard told the Chronicle that he made recommendations that several ranks be disciplined, while one be charged with perverting the course of justice and another with assault causing grievous bodily harm.
Kennard said that there were 34 statements which were submitted in the file, most of which by police officers who were either present when the incident occurred or who had to handle the prisoner before and after the incident. There were also civilians who submitted statements in the matter.
He wrapped up by saying that the medical report which he saw pertaining to the file revealed that the young man was burnt to both of his hands and that amounted to grievous bodily harm.

(By Leroy Smith)