SWAT squatted in Essequibo; AFC calls for independent inquiry into Boston shooting
The police shooting death of Orin Boston in his home has been described as “violation of operational procedures” as well as “outright criminality,” by Former Home Affairs Minister and Leader of the Alliance for Chance, Khemraj Ramjattan.
During the party’s press briefing on Friday, Ramjattan described the police’s action as illegal and uncalled for. He said there is information to suggest that Boston was not known to the police.
“Where you have a prominent businessman, everyday he goes and opens his shop, the CID in the area knows him very well, he goes to weddings houses and he dances and enjoys himself and his family, you are now going to use the SWAT to go 4’clock in the morning, it is is unheard of,” Ramjattan said.
He said too the use of the Special Weapons and Tactical Team (SWAT) team for a routine anti-crime operation like the one the police claim it was on, is highly questionable.
“It is totally unlawful, illegal and what they did now has a consequence of their illegality is to hurt their reputation and so many other things, but it is totally out of order, the SWAT was literally doing a squat on territory that did not belong to them.”
The Former Home Affairs Minister maintains that the SWAT team is only to be used for when there are “threatening and violent situations, “if you are going to go now and arrange the arrest some cocaine fella who is in his house or whatever, you generally do that through your detectives in your various stations or send some detectives from Georgetown,” Ramjattan said, “but the SWAT is for almost a national security issue, like they got people, like what happened at Bath Settlement, like when they were running the police all over the place, you can send in the SWAT to deal with people who are violated the law like that.”
Ramjattan said the team is often deployed to confront “special tactics and weapons,” as he said, “it was not in my deduction of the usage of SWAT in Essequibo in those circumstances.”
The AFC is calling for an independent inquiry into the shooting. This is as the Police said the shooting is being investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility.
On Wednesday, the Police said that there was an anti-crime operation in the Region Two community of Onderneeming. Boston was shot at his home in the wee hours of the morning. He was unarmed and the police said nothing illicit was found at Boston’s home. Boston’s wife has alleged that the man was sleeping at the time he was shot.
