Shooting incident confirms need for overhaul of City Constabulary, says Mayor

Georgetown Mayor Patricia Chase Green said that the recent shooting incident involving a Lance Corporal of the City Constabulary proved that there should be a greater sense of urgency to have the city police department restructured and to have staffers trained to execute their duties more professionally.
“This has brought more than one issue to light and there is a greater need now, more than ever before, to have the constabulary – if not restructured – to have training at all levels. The Town Clerk has started the process of calling and writing to the national Police for training, so we are onboard together to ensure that all our Ranks are properly trained,” the Mayor noted.

On Sunday, a City Constabulary Lance Corporal shot 34-year-old Marlon Fredericks of Tiger Bay, Georgetown as he allegedly tried to escape from lawful custody. Following the incident, eyewitnesses noted that the shooting could have been avoided had the Lance Corporal pursued the weakened man rather than shoot him.
The relatives of the dead man have since indicated that they would be pursuing legal action against the Constabulary since they believe that Fredericks was murdered.
She said that following the surfacing of videos which showed Fredericks being assaulted by a Joint Services rank, she enquired as to the identity of the rank and was informed that he was not enlisted with the city police department.
She added that the Constabulary rank, who was injured during the altercation on Saturday when Fredericks was apprehended, was currently on sick leave.
“I will say that every individual in custody portrays certain characteristics and behaviour pattern; as to the assessment, I am not certain if the officers on duty can assess it. We were informed that he is a drug addict and what we have now is just as how you have officers trained for domestic violence, we will now see the need to have persons trained to deal with persons of unsound mind or addicts who are in our custody. It’s something that has to be ongoing at every level,” Chase Green explained when asked about provisions to deal with mentally challenged persons in custody.
Fredericks, who is said to be mentally unstable, was wanted by the City Constabulary for simple larceny and was spotted on Saturday in the vicinity of Robb and King Streets, Georgetown. He was taken into custody following a drama-filled chase which resulted in him being assaulted by the Joint Services rank.
The following day, Fredericks was shot about 13:15h outside the City Constabulary Bourda Outpost. Reports are that the now dead man allegedly forced his way outside the lock-ups when it was opened to let out another prisoner who needed to use the toilet. A struggle reportedly ensued between the victim and the Lance Corporal who tried to restrain him, and in the process, Fredericks ran out of the Outpost and was fatally shot once in the lower back by the Lance Corporal, who was armed with a service pistol. A post-mortem examination has since confirmed his death was the result of a gunshot wound.