GOVERNMENT is likely to order a coroner’s inquest into the shooting to death of three suspected bandits on the Georgetown seawall two weeks ago, well-placed sources have confirmed.

A top official of government told the Guyana Chronicle that some members of the administration feel “very strongly” about the manner in which the men were killed as it is something they had fought against vehemently while in opposition. “That doesn’t look good and we will need an inquest. This is something when in opposition we fought against,” the source told the Guyana Chronicle.

Back in December 2015, President David Granger had given the assurance that his administration would reform the rules for Coroners’ Inquests, noting then that the coroners appointed will not necessarily be district magistrates. This, he said, will enable the State to ensure that all unnatural deaths are investigated. “So even in a case where persons assumed to be criminals are shot, we will have inquests and there will be greater care exercised by the police authority to ensure that the policemen do not act unlawfully,” the President said back then on his weekly television programme, The Public Interest.
On the said programme, President Granger was asked whether he was concerned about the police’s inability to disarm, apprehend and bring criminals to trial and he had responded in the affirmative, noting that his instruction would be to save lives. Mr Granger noted that it is not only important to suppress crime, but also to identify and remove the causes of this social ill. However, he reasoned that if criminals are killed, then it is impossible to find out what were their motives, or who were the persons behind the scenes supporting them, perhaps financially.

“I would like to see due process; I would like to see persons arrested and brought before the courts so we can find out who is the mastermind. Is there a gang leader? Are there guns, and whom are they coming from? If you kill them, you don’t know these things,” the President had said during the interview.

Police Commissioner(actg) David Ramnarine last week said that the policemen were justified in “taking out” the suspected bandits, saying that they were fired upon first. However, on Monday an eyewitness surfaced and contradicted the police’s version. On Tuesday the eyewitness, Devon Lyte, accompanied by lawyer Nigel Hughes told a news conference that he was a labourer working on the roof of the Guyana Softball Association building on March 15 at the time of the killings. Police on March 15, shot and killed 46-year-old Dextroy Cordis, called “Dutty” of Grove, East Bank Demerara; Kwame Assanah of Buxton, East Coast Demerara; and 57-year-old Errol Adams, also known as “Dynamite,” of Buxton, ECD. The police said in a statement that the men had trailed a customer from a commercial bank and were about to commit a crime when they were confronted. Police said the men shot at them first and they returned fire, killing them. Autopsies last week confirmed that the men were shot at close range with at least two of them sustaining some six bullets.

Lyte told the news conference that he was working with two other men on the roof when, just before midday on March 15, he noticed that the police had blocked off the road at the top of Camp Street. Moments later, he said sounds of gunshots rang out and upon looking across to the seawall, he saw two cars being driven along the seawall road. “A black car was in front and it was being followed by a silver car. The shots were coming from the silver car. The black vehicle which was in front, stopped, then I saw one person come out of the black car and stood up at the front driver side door (Kwame Assanah). I then saw one person come out of the silver car; he walked towards the black car. I then saw the person from the silver car start to beat the person who had come out from the driver’s side and was lying on the ground. He beat the one person while he was on the ground. Then after 20 minutes I heard rapid gunfire,” Lyte related.

He continued: “About 10 to 15 minutes after the shooting, policemen from Camp Street started to run up the road. There was a photographer with them. They went to the scene and I also saw the ambulance arrive.” The eyewitness also said that at the time when he heard the rapid gunfire, there was one person standing over the same person who was lying on the ground. Further, he said that he did not see any motorcyclist fleeing the scene during the shooting as claimed by the police.

The police had claimed that its ranks who were trailing the black car had come under fire from the occupants and during the confrontation, the men were killed, while two other men who appeared on a motorcycle, opened fire on the police. The police further said that ranks managed to shoot one of the men on the motorcycle, but the rider was able to escape, while only one handgun was recovered at the scene.

When asked if he had noticed any exchange of gunfire between the police and the suspected bandits, Lyte said “I won’t be able to say whether the guy shot at the police or the police shoot at their own vehicle.” Lyte further noted that before the shooting there was no other vehicle at the scene, other than the police vehicle and the black car. The families of Assanah and Cordis have also challenged the police’s version of the incident and have called for a thorough investigation.