A 47-year-old Stanleytown, West Bank Demerara man was
discovered dead in the Brickdam Police
Station lock-ups early yesterday morning with marks of
violence about his body and his relatives
believe that he sustained fatal injuries at the hands of the
police.
Dead is James
Nelson of Lot 7 Church Street, Stanleytown, a mason who has
been suffering from mental
problems over the years, but who would lead a normal life
once he received treatment.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud told Stabroek
News that Nelson was
arrested somewhere on Brickdam on Monday for behaving
disorderly. He was detained at the Brickdam Police
Station, Persaud said, and was discovered dead in a cell
in the lock-ups, with bruises to his face.
A police press
release issued later said Nelson was
arrested around 10 am on Monday after he entered the compound
of the Ministry of Home Affairs and began behaving disorderly,
allegedly over a sum of money owed to him by a contractor
who had sent him off the job.
The release said he was spoken to by a Special Constabulary
officer on duty but continued to behave in a disorderly manner and
had to be restrained. The rank subsequently arrested him and handed
him over to a police patrol that had been summoned.
The release added that having passed through the procedures
for prisoners at the Brickdam Police
Station, Nelson was placed in the lock-ups where he remained
throughout the night. There were 20 other prisoners in the lock-ups
for various offences.
However, around 6.30 am yesterday, acting on information
received from a prisoner, police ranks entered the lock-ups and
found Nelson lying motionless in his cell.
He was picked up and taken to the hospital where he was pronounced
dead on arrival. An examination of the body revealed a bruise over
his right eye and a small cut over his left eye. Other prisoners were questioned and they told the
police that during the night Nelson was seen banging his head
against the wall of the lock-ups. Contact was made with his sister Michelle
Nelson of ‘D’ Field, Sophia, the
police said, who confirmed that he would suffer from nervous
breakdowns from time to time.
The release said that a post-mortem examination would be conducted
today.
Yesterday relatives
expressed shock at the man’s sudden demise and complained about
the way police officers at the station treated them. Many persons gathered outside the locked station gates as the
news of Nelson’s death spread. Nelson’s wife Gloria told
this newspaper that when she and other relatives
arrived, the
police took statements from them and they were told that they
would see his body when the hearse arrived to take it away. However,
the
police did not keep their word; everyone was ordered out of
the compound and the gate locked, she related.
Gloria said her husband’s eldest son from a previous
union later saw the body and told her that Nelson’s face and
hands were badly swollen, there were marks on his hands and there
was also a gaping wound to the back of the head. She was adamant
that Nelson would have been badly beaten and said she did not
believe that the prisoners who were in the same cell
did it. This was also the opinion of the other relatives.
Mental
problems Gloria said Nelson would suffer mental
problems at least once a year, but he would be taken to the
Psychiatric Clinic at the Georgetown Hospital or a private
psychiatrist for treatment. Within a week, he would be back to his
old self, she added.
Recounting his recent episode, she said the man fell ill last
Thursday and though he was acting normally she could tell that
something was wrong with him. They made plans to have the man seek
medical attention on Monday. He was last seen early Sunday night,
Gloria said, adding that when she contacted the man’s son on
Monday morning, Nelson could not be located.
No one knew of the man’s whereabouts until the son received a
telephone call some time after six on Tuesday morning saying that he
was in the lock-ups.
About half an hour later, the son got another call informing him
that his father was dead. According to the woman, immediate contact was made with other relatives
and they all made their way to the station where they were sent to
the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to give statements.
She told this newspaper that they were then informed that they
would have a chance to identify the body, which was still lying in
the lock-ups.
However, that never happened, as everyone was told that they had to
leave.
“They put everybody out of the yard. They tell we how they don’t
want everybody in the compound and that everybody must go on the
road. Then they lock up the gate,” she said.
Commenting on what may have sparked the man’s arrest, she said he
may have been attempting to see an official at the ministry and when
he was told that he could not he probably “started to behave
bad”.
She said it might have been at this point that the
police became involved in the matter
“They know everything that transpired in there. They know how he
died… They didn’t want us to see him in that state that was why
we were not shown the body,” the grieving widow said.
“We want justice for Jimmy. He [was] not a criminal for them to
beat he so”, another relative said. Stabroek
News understands that statements were also taken from the
other prisoners who were in the same cell
with Nelson. His relatives
are calling for a thorough investigation into the incident so that
those responsible can be held accountable.
There have been several cases recently of prisoners dying
under suspicious circumstances while in police custody. On January
17, Ramesh Sawh was found hanging by his jersey in a cell
at the Enmore lock-ups. Police denied claims that the man was beaten
while in police custody.
In July, Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang ordered that the
magistrate presiding at the Cove and John Magistrate’s Court hold
an inquest into the death.
To date it has not started since it had to be postponed on two
occasions owing to the absence of the jury and witnesses.
In June Surindranauth Bhoojnauth was found hanging by his
belt in the Mahaica Police
Station lock-ups. His relatives
had said they found it odd that the belt and other items were not
taken away from him, as is customary when placing someone in the
lock-ups. A senior police at the station was questioned but nothing
came out of the matter.
