Dear Editor,
I wish to refer to an article in SN 26/11/07 titled “Shooting incident involving minister settled out of court.” I am rather disappointed and perturbed at the manner in which this serious incident was dealt with by the Guyana Police Force. It is indeed a sad state to see how our politicians are operating with immunity in a so-called democratic state.
According to the little knowledge that I have pertaining to the usage of firearms and the firing order rules a person should only remove his/her firearm from its holster or their waist if his property or the property he is paid to protect is under serious attack and there is no other means of protecting same. It is further suggested that in cases when a person armed with a firearm encounters serious personal attacks in which his/her life is threatened that person is entitled to fire. It is important to note that in the case involving the minister there has been no evidence forthcoming in the public domain to suggest that he had encountered a serious threat i.e. life threatening. Hence there can be no justifiable reason for the use of his firearm, moreso in a public place.
The action by the minister clearly constituted a criminal offence and the Commission-er of Police ought to have ensured criminal charges were laid. After all no one is above the law and the rule of law must prevail.
It is alarming to see that a senior government functionary, who is apparently aided and abetted by the Guyana Police Force, would attempt to have this nation believe that such a serious matter could be settled out of court.
I call on the Commissioner of Police, a lawyer by profession, to explain to this nation this out of court settlement since according to my belief such agreement could be deemed null and void and cannot stand legal scrutiny. It is also important to note that in keeping with information made public spent shells from this minister’s firearm were found on the scene.
Finally, editor, it is rather surprising that no statement has come from any senior government official.
Yours faithfully,
Grayson Samuels
