-man injured on July 18 tells inquiry

Michael Roberts who said he was shot in his face on July 18 told the Linden Commission of Inquiry yesterday he saw when a policeman fired at him and a mother of four testified she was searching for her son when she was hit by a bullet, fragments of which were removed at a hospital.

Alisha Barker, 34, took to the stand as the commission probing the Linden shootings resumed its sitting.

The woman said she left her home at about 17:00 hours to look for her child, Ian Barker. She stated that on arrival at the bridge, she observed a massive crowd and there were people “sporting and playing games”. After inquiring from friends about her son, she was told that he was at the Mackenzie end so she decided to go in that direction.

“I left and went on the bridge… Before I can reach the Mackenzie end I heard gunshots fired. I looked over to the Bosai fence and saw a man running, he fell down, looked dead to me,” Barker recalled, noting that she asked a bystander to take him to hospital. She said as she turned away to continue looking for her son, she came upon two young children, estimated to be about 5 and 7 years old.

“I hugged both of them, one was on my left, one was on my right and I said ‘this is no place for children where is your mother’ and they crying and said they don’t know. I said ‘police is shooting, this is no place for kids’ and I hugged them and proceeded off the bridge with them,” she said. The woman told the commission that as she approached the middle section of the bridge, she heard more gunshots.

“My right foot cant forward, my left foot I felt a burning sensation. I said ‘oh my God I was shot’. I pushed the two children forward and said ‘run for your life, don’t stop’ and they start to run,” she relayed.

The witness said that even as she was assisted off of the bridge, more gunshots rang out.  “On looking back, I saw the police shooting in the direction of the running crowd… I was in the midst of the crowd, they were running from Mackenzie to Wismar,” she said. Barker said that there were three police ranks in khaki uniforms and there were others dressed in dark blue uniforms. “They were walking coming towards the crowd pointing their guns at us. The three in khaki uniform had short guns and the ones in the blue had long guns,” she noted.

According to the woman, she ran to safety behind a shop where teargas was subsequently discharged, forcing her to divert back onto the road. She said she managed to get a taxi and went to the Wismar Hospital Complex which she found not to be in operation at the time. “There was no staff on board, it was blackout. A sister gave me some assistance by bandaging the wound and give me injection for pain. I tried for two hours with no avail to go to Mackenzie hospital so I went home with the leg still bleeding,” she added.

She said on a later attempt to visit the hospital, she came upon the police again, this time in the vicinity of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) building and the Linden Technical Institute building where they were said to be shooting. As a result, the taxi turned around.

Barker said she eventually arrived at the Mackenzie Hospital around 11pm that day and was admitted, given saline and had an x-ray done. This proved that a bullet was lodged in her left leg,” she said. It was explained that the bullet entered the right leg, exited and pierced the left where it remained lodged.  She was discharged from the institute the following day.

Tending to her while a patient was Dr. Stephenson, Dr. Mohamed and the surgeon, Dr. Ramcharran, Barker said. “Between 19th and 24th, my leg was swollen, painful, the kids did most of the work, had to get assistance to tidy up. They said don’t put no pressure on leg,” she said when asked by Attorney Basil Williams what happened after she was discharged.

Audio

COI Hearing 18/10/12 – Shot protesters

COI hearing 18-10-12 – Alicia Barker

COI hearing 18-10-12 – Alicia Barker PT2

COI hearing 18-10-12 – Protesters PT2

The woman further stated that on the 24th, she returned to meet with Dr. Ramcharran who told her that he would be unable to perform surgery to remove the foreign object because of where it was lodged. As a result, she travelled to Georgetown to seek medical attention at the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. “They examined the wound and they do some blood work and said the wound was infected. They give me ten days supply of antibiotic and recommended laser therapy so I had the therapy on the wound and the antibiotic,” she stated. Barker said she had the laser therapy at Dr. Lopez’s office in East Street. This specialist, she added, is attached to the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital.

However, the witness said she could not remain in Georgetown since she had no place to stay and went to her aunt’s home in New Amsterdam with the hope of gaining the necessary treatment at a hospital based there. At the Anamayah Memorial Hospital, Barker said she did her surgery on July 25 to remove the bullet from her leg. This cost her $256,635. Receipts from St. Joseph Mercy Hospital showed that the woman paid $12,670 and for laser therapy, she was charged $6,600. In addition to these expenses, Barker said she was burdened with transportation costs.
Barker was asked by the Commission if she had handed over the object removed from her to her lawyer. She said that the object was handed to Region 10 Chairman Sharma Solomon.

Quizzed about how the injury affected her subsequently, she said “I was getting severe pain in the left leg. The right leg was ok after it healed… I had difficulty walking around. Asked by Williams if this would affect her way of dress such as wearing “hot pants” and beachwear, Barker responded in the affirmative.

Chairman of the Commission, Justice Lensley Wolfe, advised that persons claiming compensation for injuries should provide medical certificates and those  who are seeking compensation for loss and damage to property should provide details as to the nature of damage to property.

Siren

Also taking to the stand yesterday were Dexter Scotland, Roberts and Ron Lewis.

Scotland was shot to the left nostril with the pellet lodging in his neck. It remains there. The man said he operates a shop and his daily earnings amounted to $10,000-$12,000. He said he was unable to operate his business for 34 days due to his injury. He is also seeking compensation for the clothes which became blood stained after he was shot which he says cost $10,000.

Roberts told the commission that he was shot to the face while in the Linmine Compound where he escaped to after teargas was discharged. The man said he was merely waiting on his wife to finish working and cross over the bridge to escort her home when he came under attack. “When I went there, the sun was hot and the atmosphere was like a fun day so I decided to take a little shelter under the shed,” he said.

He said he heard the siren when the police arrived on the scene but did not hear them say anything as the noise was too much. The man insisted that he was able to see when the police rank shot at him while under questioning by Attorney Peter Hugh, who is representing the Guyana Police Force. The man said although it is written in his statement that he turned to run when he saw the policeman raise his firearm in his direction, he was still able to see as he pulled his trigger.

Lewis, who was the last to testify before the adjournment of the hearing, presented six photographs that he had taken on July 18 while operating as a bus driver. In the photos, Allan Lewis, one of the men who died that day, was said to have been seen lying on the ground and in a different position in a second. There is also an image of persons running with Lewis to the Hospital. The others show the police and the protestors.

Asked by Commissioner Cecil Kennard if any of the photographs portray images of the police in the act of shooting at protestors, the witness responded in the negative.