Mother urges justice for vendor killed by city cop

Marlon Fredericks

The mother of Marlon Fredericks, the mentally-challenged vendor who was fatally shot by a member of the city constabulary on Sunday, yesterday called for justice for her son, while saying that an autopsy found that he died of a gunshot wound to his chest.

Fredericks, 33, of Tiger Bay, was shot after he allegedly attempted to flee the custody of the constabulary outpost at Bourda and his death has once more raised concerns about the use of lethal force in capturing persons. The Lance Corporal who was responsible for the shooting remained in custody up to yesterday.

Although the Guyana Police Force said the post-mortem examination performed by Government Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh gave the cause of death as “complication to lower back due to gunshot wound,” Claudette Fredericks said the report in her possession states that her son died of a gunshot wound to his chest, with no mention of an exit wound. The discrepancies, she noted, will be clarified today.