Bring the Guyana Police Force into the modern age

Guyana has had too many killings that remain unsolved (not to mention a number of mass killings). Some of these have earned the reputation as being “cold cases”. The list is long: Monica Reese, Shirley-Field Ridley, Vincent Teekah, Sash Sawh, etc., etc. The killing of 29year old Essequibo businessman Orin Boston by the Police SWAT team while he was sleeping in bed is particularly egregious because it involves members of the Guyana Police Force who are entrusted with the responsibility for law and order and the protection of all Guyanese. This incident has an eerie similarity to the killing of Shaka Blair in 2002. Stabroek News, at that time, reported that “tensions have risen…at Buxton, East Coast Demerara (ECD), following the early morning shooting of a villager, who was dragged from his bed along with his wife and child … by members of the ‘Black Clothes’ police.” So far, police have indicated that there was a “confrontation” that precipitated the shooting in the early morning hours. While it is hopeful that the killing will not be politicized (everything in Guyana is), the expectation is that an investigation and inquiry will help the public to understand the circumstances that resulted in the killing of Orin Boston. While we wait for the completion of the investigations, we express condolence to the Boston family. We also take the opportunity to repeat what we have been saying for years about the Guyana Police Force the GPF must be balanced, professionalized and decentralized in order to bring it into the modern age.