Relatives believe he was killed, call for probe
A 47-year-old Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara man was discovered dead in the Brickdam Police Station lock-ups early yesterday morning with marks of violence about his body and his relatives believe that he sustained fatal injuries at the hands of the police.
Dead is James Nelson of Lot 7 Church Street, Stanleytown, a mason who has been suffering from mental problems over the years, but who would lead a normal life once he received treatment.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud told Stabroek News that Nelson was arrested somewhere on Brickdam on Monday for behaving disorderly. He was detained at the Brickdam Police Station, Persaud said, and was discovered dead in a cell in the lock-ups, with bruises to his face.
James Nelson
A police press release issued later said Nelson was arrested around 10 am on Monday after he entered the compound of the Ministry of Home Affairs and began behaving disorderly, allegedly over a sum of money owed to him by a contractor who had sent him off the job.
The release said he was spoken to by a Special Constabulary officer on duty but continued to behave in a disorderly manner and had to be restrained. The rank subsequently arrested him and handed him over to a police patrol that had been summoned.
The release added that having passed through the procedures for prisoners at the Brickdam Police Station, Nelson was placed in the lock-ups where he remained throughout the night. There were 20 other prisoners in the lock-ups for various offences.
However, around 6.30 am yesterday, acting on information received from a prisoner, police ranks entered the lock-ups and found Nelson lying motionless in his cell. He was picked up and taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. An examination of the body revealed a bruise over his right eye and a small cut over his left eye.
Other prisoners were questioned and they told the police that during the night Nelson was seen banging his head against the wall of the lock-ups.
Contact was made with his sister Michelle Nelson of ‘D’ Field, Sophia, the police said, who confirmed that he would suffer from nervous breakdowns from time to time.
The release said that a post-mortem examination would be conducted today.
Yesterday relatives expressed shock at the man’s sudden demise and complained about the way police officers at the station treated them.
Many persons gathered outside the locked station gates as the news of Nelson’s death spread. Nelson’s wife Gloria told this newspaper that when she and other relatives arrived, the police took statements from them and they were told that they would see his body when the hearse arrived to take it away. However, the police did not keep their word; everyone was ordered out of the compound and the gate locked, she related.
Gloria said her husband’s eldest son from a previous union later saw the body and told her that Nelson’s face and hands were badly swollen, there were marks on his hands and there was also a gaping wound to the back of the head. She was adamant that Nelson would have been badly beaten and said she did not believe that the prisoners who were in the same cell did it. This was also the opinion of the other relatives.
Mental problems
Gloria said Nelson would suffer mental problems at least once a year, but he would be taken to the Psychiatric Clinic at the Georgetown Hospital or a private psychiatrist for treatment. Within a week, he would be back to his old self, she added.
Recounting his recent episode, she said the man fell ill last Thursday and though he was acting normally she could tell that something was wrong with him. They made plans to have the man seek medical attention on Monday. He was last seen early Sunday night, Gloria said, adding that when she contacted the man’s son on Monday morning, Nelson could not be located.
No one knew of the man’s whereabouts until the son received a telephone call some time after six on Tuesday morning saying that he was in the lock-ups.
About half an hour later, the son got another call informing him that his father was dead.
According to the woman, immediate contact was made with other relatives and they all made their way to the station where they were sent to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to give statements.
She told this newspaper that they were then informed that they would have a chance to identify the body, which was still lying in the lock-ups.
However, that never happened, as everyone was told that they had to leave.
“They put everybody out of the yard. They tell we how they don’t want everybody in the compound and that everybody must go on the road. Then they lock up the gate,” she said.
Commenting on what may have sparked the man’s arrest, she said he may have been attempting to see an official at the ministry and when he was told that he could not he probably “started to behave bad”.
She said it might have been at this point that the police became involved in the matter
“They know everything that transpired in there. They know how he died… They didn’t want us to see him in that state that was why we were not shown the body,” the grieving widow said.
“We want justice for Jimmy. He [was] not a criminal for them to beat he so”, another relative said.
Stabroek News understands that statements were also taken from the other prisoners who were in the same cell with Nelson. His relatives are calling for a thorough investigation into the incident so that those responsible can be held accountable.
There have been several cases recently of prisoners dying under suspicious circumstances while in police custody. On January 17, Ramesh Sawh was found hanging by his jersey in a cell at the Enmore lock-ups. Police denied claims that the man was beaten while in police custody.
In July, Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang ordered that the magistrate presiding at the Cove and John Magistrate’s Court hold an inquest into the death.
To date it has not started since it had to be postponed on two occasions owing to the absence of the jury and witnesses.
In June Surindranauth Bhoojnauth was found hanging by his belt in the Mahaica Police Station lock-ups. His relatives had said they found it odd that the belt and other items were not taken away from him, as is customary when placing someone in the lock-ups. A senior police at the station was questioned but nothing came out of the matter.
My sympathy go out to the relatives and I hope his death would be properly investigated.
We are looking.
Investigated where and how ? My friend
Can the devil case be investigated or be tried in hell, when the devil himself is the judge, lawyer and police.
Who will investigate the “hell wrong doings” in Guyana today?
It seems now common practice of prisoners dying in lockups. The COP should investigate more.
I think it’s unfair to call Mr. Nelson a prisoner. He was detained for unlawfull behavior, he was never tried and convicted of a crime. HE IS A DETAINEE!!!
Not everything that happens needs a invesgation,the medical eximiner can reveal what happens…and if you don’t thrust the medical eximiner findings there are other option.The goverment is spending far too much tax payer dollar to keep these criminal away from civilized soceity.Know there are dead we should pay
joe joe, are you implying that Mr. nelson is a criminal?
Your obvious inability to comprehend a simple missive leaves much to be desired.
Be careful though, as none of us are immune to the situations that can easily land us in a poilce station. ( maybe a traffic accident, a domestic dispute, an incident of self defense resulting in death or injury to the aggressor)
I am disappointed that you would make such a comment.
Sorry Joe but are you calling this individual a criminaal? Did you read the story? He was arrested for disorderly conduct while trying to uplift THE WAGES OF HIS LABOUR at the MoHA. When man wuk an doan gyeh pay he does trip. I bet if your employers in the US refuse to pay you you’ll raise hell!!!
Quote: “Know they are dead we should pay.” Joe Joe, I guess meant, NOW they are dead……. The man was not a criminal, he was arrested for disorderly behaviour, not a violent crime. He was not tried and convicted by a magistrate. Your ambiguous statememt castigates the innocent. By the way you don’t pay for anything here, you live is the great USA, I pay, I live in Guyana.
Lock-up are not supposed to be five star hotels. However, the Brickdam lock-up in indeed in a terrible state. So too is the Camp Street Prison. The authorities there should look into these places because some of these same people in Office can end up there one day. Most people who go to these places become bigger criminals when they are released into society, and you do not have to be guilty to go to jail in Guyana. A member of my family was jailed for 9 months in 1968-69 and he always maintained that he was innocent. He was poor and he had no lawyer. A villager said that he saw someone like this individual. From a humble worker, this main lived a life of crime for a number of years afterwards.
Red Lion
Cowardly acts , that’s what the police , or some of them are up to . Sometimes I think they’re not different from the bandits . Their duty was to serve and protect , now it’s ‘ serving licks !! ‘ .
Some of these so called Fry rice police don’t have any real training ! All they know is to beat the life out of you , even if you just use some cuss word in front of them .
Fry rice police indeed. Yet some of us want to pay them $100,000. per month. You can’t trust them with your money, your family…..nothing. Talk about bar-b-que. When there is a bar-b-que in the village, there is no Officer in the stations. When these so-called low lives become Officers, they see it as a form of status and access to wealth. How can we get them to look at a man and say that this is someone’s son, or brother, or father ; or a woman, and see her as a wife, a mother or a man’s child.
Red Lion
my sympathy goes out to the
relatives and i hope too that his death
is properly investigated . these things have to stop,
i am a guyanes and i am very ashame to read what is going on
in my beloved country and to my people,
mr president these things have to stop, it is a shame
what about people rights, you have to do some thing about it.
what about the toilets if you are at home mr president you nead
these things, all so in your office.
police stations too.
This one will be at the end of a long line of investigations being carried out by the police. The police are still investigating the body of a woman that was tossed from a SUV on main street years ago. Hopefully Mr. Nelson’s would be solved by 2045.
May he rest in peace.
Here we go again another one bite the dust in the brickdam lock up, who’s responsible.
Prisoner found dead in Brickdam lock-ups ……why am i not shocked?????
just the other day i read a report about brickdam lockup….more will die there….innocent ones too…..
the police is totally at fault here,they dont care about the welfare and the mental capacity of any person arrested and placed in the b/dam lockups, the police must be trained properly in this aspect,i beileve they should inform the relatives of sick persons when being placed in the lookup and attention should be paid to moniter thier actions, also the state of that particular lookups is in a most inhuman state and should be condemmed, the stench which eminates from that area is unbearable.
It should be law that anyone arrested must be screened on medical history, and ALL arrested MUST be allowed to contact their families or relatives within 12hrs of being arrested.
The way how people are dying in Guyana these days, it seems better to live in DARFUR.
I hear all the praises of true democracy, but where is the infrastructure of this democracy?
Whosoever died and left us this socalled democracy, did not include the government in the will.