Six days after the death of 32-year-old Gavin Douglas in the Vreed-en-Hoop Police lock-ups, five Police Officers were today charged with the offence of murder and remanded to jail.
The murder accused, Joel Newsum, Arif Haniff, Tiansay Thomas, Wencill Marshall and Bevis Lyles, appeared before Chief Magistrate Judy Latchman who read the charges against them. They were not required to enter a plea to the indictable murder charge and were immediately remanded to prison.
It is alleged that the five Police ranks murdered Gavin Douglas while he was in their custody at the Vreed-en-Hoop Police station last Saturday. The five Policemen offered no comments during their Court appearance.
Douglas was arrested on Saturday, 31st October on allegations of being involved in a robbery. Less than an hour after he was taken into custody, he was killed.
The Police have never provided any information about any alleged robbery that the arresting officers initially claimed the man was involved in. However, moments before his beating death inside the lock-ups, Douglas had contacted his mother to tell her that he was accosted by Police officers who instructed him to drive to the Police Station.
Once at the station, it is alleged that the man got into an argument with the Police Officers after they laid the robbery allegations against him. He reportedly questioned the allegations and denied any involvement in any robbery.
However, he his hands were reportedly zip-tied and he was placed in a cell at the lockups. Another man who was at the same Police Station at the time told investigators that he recalled seeing a number of officers going to the man’s cell with taser guns and hearing a loud commotion just after.
Douglas was reportedly beaten and tasered while his hands were still tied in the cell. He was lifted out of the cell in a motionless state and taken to the West Demerara Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A post-mortem examination found that he died from blunt trauma to the head and abdomen, which also carried additional injuries. The post-mortem examination also found the clips from the taser guns in the man’s body, indicating that the taser guns were pressed against his skin as he was being tasered.
A full investigation was carried out into the death and a total of six Police Officers were initially arrested. Legal advice was sought and it was recommended that five of the suspects be charged for murder, leading to today’s Court appearance.
The five murder accused will make their next Court appearance on the 17th November at the Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrates’ Court.
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