Dear Editor,
We have learned with outrage, pain, and profound disgust of the brutal treatment meted out to the young man, Gavin Douglas while in the custody of the Guyana Police Force, which directly resulted in his untimely and unlawful death.
We condemn in the strongest possible terms this barbaric and inhumane act.
Any citizen who is in the custody of the police, is in the protection of the State. The State has full responsibility for his/her safety, well-being, and life. For a young man to enter a police station alive and leave as a corpse is an indictment of the entire system. It is a complete betrayal of the oath taken by the Police, to serve and protect as mandated by our constitution.
Let us be clear: This is not misconduct, neither is it a mistake. This is criminality. Brutality by the police is once again becoming the norm.
What happened to Gavin Douglas constitutes murder, and it must be treated as murder. The law does not provide for a lesser standard when the perpetrators are members of the Guyana Police Force. The badge is not a licence to kill. If the shoes were on the other foot, the police would have acted with brute force and ignorance. There is no justification for extrajudicial killings. Absolutely none!
We therefore make the following demands:
1. The Commissioner of Police: We demand the immediate interdiction and arrest of all ranks who were on duty and involved in the detention, handling, and supervision of Gavin Douglas. Their identities must be disclosed and they must be placed before the court without delay.
2. To the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP): We demand that you act with the same expeditiousness you displayed in the recent MV Barima incident involving the Captain and his colleagues. We demand that charges of murder be instituted swiftly. The family cannot be made to wait for years for justice while the killers continue to walk free and collect taxpayers’ money.
3. To the Minister of Home Affairs: You have the responsibility for the discipline and conduct of the Police Force. We demand a full, public accounting of what occurred, and immediate reforms to ensure custodial safety, including mandatory CCTV in all police stations and the lock ups, independent medical examination of detainees, and independent investigations of all deaths which occur in police custody and also the prisons.
4. To the Government of Guyana: We demand that the State take full legal and moral responsibility for this young man’s death. We demand adequate compensation for the family of Gavin Douglas and a public commitment that those responsible will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.No more cover up!
We are tired of press statements expressing “concern” while extrajudicial killings continue. We are tired of the double standard where ordinary citizens are charged and remanded in 72 hours, but police officers who kill citizens are transferred, sent on administrative leave, or protected by a prolonged so called “investigation.”
Justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done. Justice must be impartial. Justice must be swift.
To all the relevant authorities, ask yourselves, what you would have done or want to see done if it was your child and let your action answer.
We stand in solidarity with the family, relatives, and loved ones of Gavin Douglas in this hour of grief. We cannot be silent or intimidated. This time, it is Gavin Douglas but it could have been our son, grandson or nephew. There must not be a next time.
Justice for Gavin Douglas.
An injury to one is an injury to all. We demand justice now!
Yours truly,
Joy Marcus
Susan Collymore
Wintress White
Halima Khan
Maeve Ramsay
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