The PNCR says it is concerned about the police statement that Buxton resident Tyrone Pollard was killed during an exchange of gunfire with the joint services after army ranks searched the area and did not recover the weapon.
Forty-six-year-old Pollard, of Lot 81 Buxton Sideline Dam was killed after he allegedly exchanged gunfire with the ranks from the Disciplined Forces and sought to elude them by plunging into the Sideline canal, the party said in a press release. It said residents have since offered a different account about how the man met his death; saying that only one shot was fired and that was the one that ended Pollard’s life. After the GDF ranks’ search of the area failed to recover the weapon, “a police officer appeared and went into the trench in the same area and miraculously found a .38 pistol and matching rounds,” the PNCR said. Further, the party said, “it appears that only two rounds were supposedly fired and not the four which the police claimed were fired by the victim.”
The party said it also condemns the methods the Disciplined Forces used when they entered Pollard’s home to conduct a search. Footage from several television newscasts “clearly showed that these security ranks destroyed property” including television sets and other electrical equipment that Pollard used to repair items belonging to residents of the area. The PNCR said it is again calling for an independent investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding Pollard’s death.
The party said in November 1999, in its paper the New Nation, it called for independent investigations after the killing of 23-year-old Collin McGregor and Fazil Naraine, who were shot at the Enmore Police Outpost. It said since then it has felt compelled to call for similar types of investigations to be conducted. The party said more than three months after Donna Herod was shot and killed under “controversial circumstances” an inquest, as required by law, is yet to be conducted. It said too that Justice Cecil Kennard, head of the Police Complaints Authority, had been quoted in the press as saying that the matter had been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) with a view to holding an inquest. However, the party said the DPP does not appear to be making any major effort to host the enquiry. The party said it finds this situation inexcusable and unacceptable and it remains firm in its opinion that an independent inquiry must be held.
Meanwhile, the party said citizens’ human rights continue to be violated without any investigation by the government. The party recalled allegations of torture by the security forces made by Victor Jones, Patrick Sumner and David Zammett. Zammett walked with great difficulty when he appeared at court prompting Justice Jainarayan Singh Jr to order that he be taken for a medical examination. This examination was never done, the party said. Jones and Sumner both alleged they were tortured by army ranks though months after the allegations were made the army has yet to inform the public about whether promised investigations were undertaken and the results.
In the circumstances the PNCR demands that the government “come clean on the question of the torturing of these individuals and cause an immediate investigation to be held.” The party “once again, reminds the PPP/C Administration that, under the international Conventions it has signed against torture, it is illegal for any reason whatever, to torture its citizens.” The party said too citizens who had been tortured are entitled to compensation for the injuries suffered.
