POLICE Commissioner, Leslie James, said the policeman injured in last Thursday’s shootout at Norton Street, Lodge, Georgetown, will be publicly commended by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) for his bravery.

The policeman, Corporal Clive Clarke, was shot in the right leg during a shootout with three bandits, who were eventually killed.

At a press conference on Monday, the commissioner said the policeman’s bravery will be commended along with another policeman who has also exhibited bravery in similar circumstances.

James said the policeman was moved from the Georgetown Public Hospital and is recuperating at the St Joseph Mercy Hospital. The GPF welfare officers are looking into his well-being.

Reflecting on what occurred at the crime scene, the top cop said the three bandits went into a house to commit a crime and the matter was reported to the police. The police responded and a man and his son were rescued.

He said the robbers decided to engage in a confrontation with the police, shots were fired and the perpetrators were killed.

According to Divisional Commander, Assistant Commissioner Marlon Chapman, the three bandits who were involved in the shootout were rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, where a doctor on duty pronounced them dead on arrival.
“None of the bandits surrendered,” he said.

When questioned on if the police force has a trained negotiator to accompany the ranks who engage the bandits, James said, “we do have persons who are trained in negotiation and when you have such operations, that person goes along with the team, but almost all situations the negotiations are not necessary for them to engage”.

In the future, the police force is seeking to have ambulances on site in an effort to avoid using police vans to take persons to the hospital.

On Thursday, three bandits had set out to rob construction worker, Neville Lesley, moments after he had put his five-year-old son to bed.

According to reports, at about 20:00hrs, while Lesley was closing the doors to his Lot 46 Norton and Victor Streets home, he saw someone scaling his fence but by the time he reacted, he was held at gunpoint.

The gunman demanded gold and cash and within minutes, two other gunmen also made their way into his home, each carrying a handgun.

After the bandits realised police were at the scene, they decided to take action to defend themselves and Lesley, with the aid of the police, managed to escape with his son through a window. In the process, there was a shootout between the bandits and police and the bandits were killed while a policeman was injured.