Three days after a 17-year-old youth was badly burnt while in Police custody, the teen’s father believes there may be a deliberate attempt now to cover up the incident as the investigations move at a snail’s pace.
The teen, Jahiem Peters remains a patient under Police guard at the Georgetown Hospital, nursing severe burns to his chest and the side of his body.
In an interview with News Source today, the young man’s father Esee Peters said he has no confidence in the investigation that is currently underway. The man explained that his son was arrested and kept in custody as a suspect for a robbery even after the alleged robbery victims told investigators that he was not the perpetrator.
The man said he was at the funeral for his brother when he learned that his son was being taken to the hospital on Sunday evening after he was burned in the lock-ups. The man has rubbished the Police Force’s story that the teen set fire to his t-shirt after being supplied with a lighter by someone who was at the station.
The elder Peters said he was at the Vigilance Police station when his son was booked and placed in the cell. The man said he witnessed his son being searched and items being removed from his pockets before he was dumped in the locks with handcuffs to his hands and feet. He said there is no way that his son could have inflicted the burns on himself. The youth has complained that he was tortured by investigating police ranks at the station.
“My son was searched in the presence of me on Saturday, and they hand over he ring to me. Nothing else, they hand over he ring to me, they searched my son in front of me. So that is lie that people give him lighter. If me son handcuffed and he foot shackled, how he getting lighter to burn he own self. And he told me that they beat he and they decide to call ambulance and so”, the father recounted.
He said although his son was injured while in Police custody, he was never contacted by the Police about the injuries his son sustained. Mr. Peters said it was a nurse who is known to his family that contacted him and informed him that his son was in the hospital.
The father said while he is hoping for a thorough investigation, he is not too confident that one will be done.
The Guyana Police Force has indicated that the matter is being investigated by the Police Office of Professional Responsibility and two Police ranks are under close arrest.
Meanwhile, another youth, Trevon Williams, who was at the station the same time that the teen was arrested and placed in the lock-ups confirmed that the teen was handcuffed and shackled to his feet while in the lockups.
The young man said he was surprised when he learned that the teen was badly burnt while in custody.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
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