APNU members yesterday visited the family and friends of 16-year-old Altaf King in Springlands, Region Six, as calls continue for justice following the teenager’s death.
During the visit, a young man who identified himself as an eyewitness gave an account of what he said he observed on the day of the incident.
Initially hesitant to speak, the man agreed to share his account after receiving reassurance from those gathered. He alleged that King had ridden past a police patrol before officers pursued him in a police vehicle.
According to the witness, the police jeep struck King’s motorcycle, forcing him into a nearby concrete lantern post.
He further claimed that after the collision, officers summoned another police patrol vehicle, which later arrived and removed the injured teenager from the scene.
The witness told opposition members that he had been repairing a bicycle with a friend nearby when the incident occurred.
“Altaf ride pass, they drive behind he and brace him into the post right by the blue stand,” he repeated while speaking with opposition Member of Parliament Terrence Campbell, attorney and Dexter Todd, Coretta McDonald, and other APNU representatives.
Following the visit, family members, friends and supporters staged a peaceful picketing exercise outside the Springlands Police Station, where they renewed calls for justice and demanded a full investigation into King’s death.
Addressing those gathered, attorney Dexter Todd urged residents not to be intimidated by law enforcement officers while stressing that members of the Guyana Police Force are accountable to the public.
“The police force are not persons for you to be afraid of. They are there to serve and to protect, and where they are getting out of line, we have a right to call them back in line,” Todd said.
While acknowledging the importance of maintaining law and order in society, Todd maintained that police officers must carry out their duties professionally and within the bounds of the law.
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