Police claim man was struggling for officer’s shotgun when killed

Police claim man was struggling for officer’s shotgun when killed

Just before the stroke of midnight on Saturday, the Guyana Police Force issued a press statement in relation to the police shooting death of Albouystown and Kitty resident Adrian Bishop, who was shot dead just after 8 o’ clock on Saturday night while in the back seat of a police vehicle after being arrested in Albouystown.

According to a police statement, Bishop was struggling for the policeman’s weapon when he was shot to the neck.

“The Guyana Police Force wishes to clarify that during the struggle between Adrian Bishop and the armed policeman in the police vehicle, Adrian Bishop made efforts to relieve the rank of the firearm during which a round was discharged that struck him to his neck”, the Police Force said in its statement.

But Albouystown residents and eyewitnesses have disputed that story.

According to a number of persons who were on the scene at the time, the young man never resisted arrest and cooperated  with the officers who were arresting him even after he was “chucked up” and assaulted by the same officers.

The eyewitnesses said it was moments after Bishop was placed in the back of the police vehicle and the Police jumped in, that a loud gunshot was heard. One resident said a policeman could have been overheard saying he did not know what went wrong and that the “gun went off”. There are reports that the gun was pressed against the young man’s neck when he was shot dead.

The residents are adamant that there was no struggle seen at the back of the police vehicle and there were no sounds of any struggle before the gunshot went off.

The Police statement claims that Bishop was wanted by the Police for robbery under arms although he was only released from Police custody after the court granted him bail on a robbery charge less than two weeks ago. The same police statement confirmed that fact.

According to the Police statement, “a mobile police patrol responded to a report received from a policewoman that a suspect who was wanted for robbery under arms  had assaulted her in Albouystown, Georgetown”.

The police report did not point out that the policewoman who made the call was reportedly in a relationship with the same man and may have been assaulted during a confrontation in Albouystown over another woman.

The 28-year-old man was known to law enforcement and had appeared in court on a number of occasions on robbery charges. He had served some time in prison on a robbery charge back in 2012.

 

Filed: 21st September, 2014 

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