ANUG recommends public judicial inquiry into police shooting death of Boston

Last Updated on Monday, 27 September 2021, 12:33 by Denis Chabrol

A New and United Guyana (ANUG) political party is recommending that a coroner’s inquest be held into the police shooting death of an Essequibo Coast businessman earlier this month.

That party says if that judicial inquiry finds the policeman culpable for the death of 29-year old Orin Boston on September 15, the lawman should be prosecuted.

In contrast to a “confidential” probe that involves the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), ANUG says a public inquest should be conducted by a magistrate. “The coroner is empowered to summon reputable residents of the neighbourhood to act as jurors during the inquest, and to subpoena witnesses and hear evidence. The Coroner’s Inquest should be public.

Among the things ANUG says that the inquest should examine include what  ‘intelligence’ the SWAT team acted on to break into Boston’s home; why they did not have a search warrant to enter the premises; whether their forced entry into those premises was lawful; what circumstances necessitated the use of deadly force by twelve trained and armed men to subdue one man in his bedroom.

ANUG says  the possible conditions exist for a charge of murder to be brought against the policeman. “A New and United Guyana wants to be clear: if the entry into Boston’s home was unlawful, his death may be murder, and should be prosecuted as murder. If the use of deadly force by the SWAT team was not justified in the circumstances, his death may be murder, and should be prosecuted as murder, just as police officer Dereck Chauvin was charged with the murder of George Floyd.”

That political party, which together with two other small parties, hold a seat in the National Assembly says it is time for there to be accountability and end to cover ups.