By Gabriella Chapman

SHONETTE Adams, the mother of Shaquille Grant, who was shot to death by police officers, is suing the State for the loss and damages caused.

The 17-year-old boy was, on September 11, 2012, one among a group of young men who were allegedly “planning a robbery” and was pounced upon by a team of policemen, who fired shots at them. Grant was hit and subsequently died.

The distraught mother, represented by Attorney Nigel Hughes, filed a claim dated November 19th 2014, contending that on the said day, the deceased was negligently shot and killed by members of the Guyana Police Force, namely: Warren Blue, Jamal Lewis and Terrence Wallace, who were acting in their official capacities.

According to court documents seen by this newspaper, the plaintiff states that the said police officers were not in any imminent danger at the time of the assault and killing of her son, and they wrongfully denied him of his constitutional right to life.

The matter was brought before Justice Persaud and was heard on several occasions, where witnesses testified to substantiate the case.

On Monday, the matter was called again, but the State had no representation.
However, since this was not the first occasion of their absence, Justice Persaud proceeded with the hearing of the testimonies, as the witnesses would have been coming to court to no avail.

On proceeding with Monday’s hearing, Amanda Williams Paddy was called to the witness box to give her testimony. The young woman recalled that on the day of the incident, she was a resident of a house alongside the shed where the shooting had occurred.

Amanda said that she was in the kitchen preparing breakfast when she heard a gunshot. When she looked through the window, she saw a group of armed policemen clad in dark blue clothing. Upon seeing them, she ran to the bedroom to her daughter who was three years old and that time. While running to the bedroom, she heard another gunshot.

From the bedroom, Amanda said, she could have seen the officers under the shed beside the house, through a crease in the wall. She saw them, along with five men lying face down under the shed and a police was standing over Grant.

HORROR
“I heard the police saying, “you ain’t dead yet?” “You ain’t dead yet?” And Shaquille was crying out for his belly. I saw the police standing over Shaquille,” the young mother recalled.

Adding that she later saw the police dragging Grant to the police vehicle that was at the front of the yard.

Prior to Monday’s hearing, Nicholas Eastman took the court back to the day his friend died in his presence. He stated that they were hanging out in a yard at Third Street, Agricola, when they saw police officers wearing bulletproof jackets coming from the back of the yard, pointing their guns at them.

One of the officers told them to lie on the ground while two other officers proceeded to search them. Eastman said after the search was conducted, they tried to pick his friend up, Romel Bollers, who resisted and a scuffle ensued.

“Thereafter, I heard a gunshot and I froze… I heard another explosion. I closed my eyes and I felt a warm feeling in my stomach. I opened my eyes and I saw blood between myself and Shaquille. Shaquille shouted ‘I get knock! I get Knock!’” Eastman said.
He added that Shaquille tried to get up and a police officer went behind him and kicked him down, and said “you ain’t dead yet?” And shot him again.

Grant and Bollers were taken to the hospital where the former was pronounced dead and the latter injured. The remaining men were taken into custody and Eastman said they were released a few days after.

He told the court that they were never charged, hadn’t any weapons or objects and never attacked any of the officers. “In fact, the officers never announced why they were there,” Eastman said.

Eastman returned to court on Monday, as his testimony was scheduled to be cross-examined by the State; however, due to their no-show, this could not be done.

Hughes explained to Justice Persaud that Eastman was at the peak of losing his job in St. Cuthbert’s Mission because of his continuous absence to attend the court hearings. The application was therefore granted for both witnesses be excused and not have to return.
The judge then adjourned the court until November 22.

BACKGROUND
Three years ago, Officer Wallace went scotch free, following a unanimous not-guilty verdict by a 12-member jury, after the trial for the murder of the teen. Blue and Lewis were also charged but they were never arrested. Lewis is still at large but Blue died during a robbery.

During Wallace’s trial, he made an unsworn testimony admitting to firing one shot, but that was at Bollers, he said. During that same time, two other shots came from behind him but he could not say which officer(s) they came from.

However, despite convincing depositions by star witness Troy Greenidge, who said, “I saw TSU Cop Terrence Wallace shoot 17-year-old Shaquille Grant at Agricola on September 11, 2012,” the murder accused, Terrence Wallace, was found not guilty by a mixed jury.