Police Constable Sherwin Peters, who is attached to the SWAT Unit within the Guyana Police Force (GPF), has been committed to stand trial for manslaughter over the September 2021 killing of Dartmouth, Essequibo, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) businessman, Orin Boston.
Charged Policeman: Sherwin Peters
The 32-year-old Joint Services rank was granted $1 million bail at his initial court appearance before Magistrate Esther Sam at the Suddie Magistrate’s Court.
Peters, of Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice), was not required to plead to the indictable charge, which alleged that on September 15, 2021, he unlawfully killed Boston.
At the end of a Preliminary Inquiry (PI) on Thursday, Magistrate Sam ruled that the prosecution was able to establish a prima facie case against Peters to put him on trial for the offence.
Accordingly, she committed him to stand trial at the next practicable sitting of the Essequibo Criminal Assizes.
Dead: Orin Boston
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) had received advice from the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to charge Peters with the lesser offence.
From the outset, the GPF had refuted assertions that Boston’s death was an act of murder.
Boston, 29, of Hoppy Street, Dartmouth, Essequibo Coast, was shot during a Police search of his home in the wee hours of the morning of September 15, 2021.
He was reportedly shot with a .223 calibre rifle, which is the standard weapon issued to the SWAT team. Following the incident, then Police Commissioner Nigel Hoppie had instructed the Force’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) to conduct a thorough investigation.
After the probe was completed, the file was sent to the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) to be reviewed, and thereafter to the DPP’s Chambers.
Hoppie and Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum had visited Boston’s family and promised to leave no stone unturned in the probe. Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn had also visited the grieving family, during which he expressed disappointment at the tragic incident.
He had assured the family that the Government was committed to having an impartial investigation done. “Police killing should never occur, only in extreme circumstances, where a Police life is in danger, or in a bid to save civilian lives. Our method should only occur as a process of lawful approaches,” the Home Affairs Minister had expressed.
When word of Boston’s death spread in his community, angry friends, relatives, and villagers took to the streets to vent their disapproval. They hauled fallen trees, old tyres, and derelict cars to the middle of the main access road and began their fiery protest which lasted for several days. (G1)
