-residents upset at police treatment

The search by the police at a Queenstown house on Tuesday evening for guns and ammunition yielded nothing and the occupants of the home are upset at the way they were treated by the lawmen.

A senior police officer confirmed that the police search at Lot 257 Forshaw Street, Queenstown was unsuccessful as nothing was found.

The police had swooped on the house at around 7 pm on Tuesday and never left the yard until about 10:30pm, according to an occupant. The woman was not even sure if the officers produced a search warrant but she recalled they were told that the officers were looking for guns and ammunition.

One of the occupants, most of whom are women and children, told Stabroek News yesterday that upon completion of the search one of the officers “ask we if anybody and we get story in the area, meaning that somebody call them and tell them we gat guns and ammunition.”

“He then turn and tell we ‘you all don’t vex we just doing we job’,” the woman said.

However, she said while they appreciate the fact that the police have their job to do they cannot understand why the police had them out in the cold for so many hours although very young children were among them. The building, which is home to three different families, is occupied by 19 children and a number of adults. The youngest child is three months old.

According to the woman about an hour into the search most of the lawmen left the location and returned about an hour later to continue the search.

“All this time we had to be outside, I don’t understand why they left and then come back,” the woman said. She said that about six police officers remained and they surrounded the house while being armed with “long guns.” Most of the children and adults were in the meantime forced to sit on the fence and the stairs of the house.

“I want sleep…” one of the children was overheard saying when Stabroek News had visited the location on Tuesday night. Another child was forced to remain at a neighbour until the police exercise was over as he was visiting his friends when the lawmen turned up and he was refused entry into the yard.

Yesterday many of the children in the yard were heard discussing the event and talking about the long guns the police were armed with. Some even imitated the actions of the police officers when they first arrived at the location.

“It was not right what they did, we know they have their work to do but not like that and we don’t have any guns…” the woman said.