Dear Editor,
After the hundreds of deaths under suspicious circumstances that this nation experienced during the decade and a half, it behooves us to be vigilant and ask questions when the police shoot citizens. The incident on the 29th May in which Mr Leslie Semple was killed by police fire is one that begs for clarification based on media reports of the event.
The Guyana Chronicle of 30th May tells us that Semple and an accomplice attempted to carry out a robbery at a store on Regent Street. The police responding to a call challenged the two would be thieves, managing to capture one, while the other one, Mr Semple, attempted to escape by “making his way over a fence, [and] menaced police with a chopper.” Does this mean that the police stood between Mr Semple and the fence, so that he had to “menace” them “with a chopper” in an effort to have a clear path to the fence – his escape route? If this interpretation is correct then why was he not stopped before he reached the fence? Why was he allowed to advance so far as to be actually “making his way over a fence”? On the other hand, does the Chronicle, in stating that Mr Semple was “attempting to make his way over a fence” intend to convey to us that Mr Semple was already on the fence and therefore the police were in pursuit (behind him)? If this is what the paper meant, then why was a fleeing man, anxious to put distance between him and the police, shot “to the neck” and not in the leg?
The Chronicle answers this question by telling readers that Mr Semple was “shot and killed by the police after he attempted to attack a police rank with a chopper.” So now we have a picture of a man fleeing from the police succeeding in getting onto a fence in a bid to make his escape, changing his mind jumping off the fence and attacking the rank “with a chopper.” So why did Mr Semple change his mind? Why did this man who was anxious to place distance between himself and the police suddenly decide it would be better to turn around and attack?
Next, if Mr Semple was shot “while attempting to make his way over a fence,” we need to know how far the pursuing police were from the fence. The issue here is that in jumping from a fence one would have to correct one’s balance on landing, before being able to adopt the totally different physical action required for moving towards the police. Knowing the distance between the fence which he jumped from and the police will also allow us to assess whether there was enough time for the police to issue a warning for Mr Semple to stand still or drop his chopper − a weapon which is mostly used in close combat. So, did the police issue a warning before firing? Or were they so close to the fence and Mr Semple landing that the threat to their lives was instant, thus allowing no time for a warning and justifying the reflex action of firing?
The Kaieteur News of 30th May told a similar story, in fact the Kaieteur offers us two perspectives; first it quotes a police statement on the event. It said that ranks responded to a report of a breakage on a store on Regent Street. On arrival they were able to apprehend one of the suspects while the other who was “in the process of climbing over the fence to the compound, jumped down and attacked the ranks with a chopper.” This police statement is in sync with the Chronicle’s reporting on the incident. Thus the questions asked above of the Chronicle would also be appropriate here.
Then, as if distinct from the police release the Kaieteur News tells us that the “ranks reported” they were in the vicinity of Household Plus in Regent Street, Bourda when the suspect who was in the store compound, said “look police coming.” The suspect allegedly then “attempted to attack the ranks with a chopper and the Corporal discharged two shots in his direction.” Notice in the ranks’ version unlike that of the Chronicle and the police statement there is no mention of an accomplice. The ranks spoke only of “the suspect” and “the burglar allegedly fled the scene,” in both instances referring to Mr Semple. Also the ranks’ report said that on seeing the police Mr Semple “attempted to attack the ranks with a chopper.” Notice in their version there is also no mention of a fence, no “jumping down” from it.
Further, in the ranks’ version of the actual shooting they say the “Corporal discharged two shots in his direction.” This time their version differs only from the Chronicle version of “a single gunshot to the neck.” So was it necessary to shot Mr Semple twice? What was the distance between Mr Semple and the police? Was an order to stop or stand still issued?
As I think of this incident I can’t help but recall a young American who lived in Guyana for two years, telling me how much she loved Guyana and would have loved to live here. However what deterred her is the face that, in her words, “life is so cheap in Guyana.” An investigation into this police shooting is definitely needed, and I await its finding before drawing my conclusion.
Yours faithfully,
Claudius Prince
