The investigation into the police shooting of one of their own may be nearing an end, while another lingers on because of fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Acting Police Commissioner McDonald Jacob told Guardian Media yesterday that investigators will go to the DPP soon.
“Concerning the whole aspects of (PC) Gilkes, I know that is either over this weekend or early next week, we’ll be meeting with the DPP again, the investigators, I’m really looking forward to these matters coming to some measure of closure,” Jacob said.
PC Clarence Gilkes was shot on April 22 during an exercise in Rich Plain, Diego Martin.
Police initially said they were engaged in a shootout with suspects when he was shot. However, a forensic investigation revealed Gilkes was shot in the back of the head.
An investigation by the Police Complaints Authority found the officers had Jacob over what occurred. The officers involved in the incident have since been either placed on desk duty or suspended.
Meanwhile, the police officers involved in the investigation into the July 2 shooting on Independence Square, in which three young men were killed, remain in quarantine. Guardian Media first reported on the quarantined officers earlier this week. Jacob says there’s still no change.
“Because the persons who were responsible for doing all the ballistics work; they reached 80 per cent, are now in quarantine in relation to COVID. I think I will just have to wait,” he said. “It will not make much sense right now to give somebody else the work to do it, you will complicate things. So, when he comes off of quarantine, work will be completed. And then they will now revisit that, the investigators will go back to the DPP.”
On July 2, three young men from St Barb’s and Beetham Gardens were shot and killed by police officers following a pursuit. Police claimed they were shot at by the occupants of the car and returned fire. However, none of the three survivors of the incident was charged.
Jacob assured they will close the investigations.
“I want to fulfil what I promised the population, that our approach in relation to investigations has now changed. And we have the team approach, where I assign a number of persons to assist the investigators in the investigation to bring things to closure, you know, as soon as possible so that trust and confidence can be built within the police service pertaining to our investigative network.”