Confessed Brickdam Police Station arsonist never gave written statement- Police

Last Updated on Wednesday, 6 October 2021, 7:39 by Denis Chabrol

Fending off claims that a man was forced by police to confess that he burnt down the Brickdam Police Station, the Guyana Police Force said no written statement was ever signed by the man.

Police said they only had in their possession a video recorded “explanation” by Clarence Greene about his role in setting alight the 19th century colonial wooden building that housed the headquarters of ‘A’ Division, Guyana’s largest police division.

“Investigators are in possession of a confession (on video), and not on paper as claimed in the report,” the Guyana Police Force said. Police said they would be using the video confession to prosecute Greene.

Dismissing as “malicious” a recent post on Social Media surrounding Greene’s confession, the Police Force stoutly rejected claims that he was beaten and forced to state that he pushed a burning piece of sponge on a piece of wire through a hole at the Brickdam lockups and started the fire. “It is clear that the suspect was under no form of duress at the time he explained to the police how he started the fire,” the law enforcement agency said.

The Guyana Police Force said those “unsubstantiated attacks on the integrity and professionalism of ranks of the Guyana Police Force” were “nothing more than an attempt to undermine the investigations.”

Prior to the Police Force’s announcement that Greene had been responsible for the fire, President Irfaan Ali had strongly suggested that there was a political link between recent fires and utterances in the United States. He had said that he would be seeking international assistance to probe the fires.