Jean Rodrigues was shot in the back during a police chase
The Police Officer, who reportedly opened fire during a chase at the Stabroek Market area, hitting and injuring a bystander, is currently on active duty as the investigation into the incident continues.
This was disclosed by acting Commander of A Division (Georgetown-East Bank Demerara), Marlon Chapman, who told reporters on Friday that the officer “is at station”.
When probed further to ensure the interim Commander was not interpreted incorrectly, Chapman said “he is at station… once he is at station, he can’t play; he has to be working.”
The Commander went on to inform reporters that the investigators are awaiting the results from the ballistic tests that were done on both the officer involved and the suspect in custody to determine who shot the 54-year-old woman. This is being done even though the Police did not find any weapon in the teenager’s possession.
“(The ballistic tests) are being done on both parties – the Police weapon as well as the hands of both parties… The hands of the Police as well as the suspect have been swabbed for gun powder residue,” Chapman pointed out.
Sometime around 17:30h on Tuesday, Jean Rodrigues, of Crane Housing Scheme, West Coast Demerara, was in the vicinity of the Timehri Bus Park (Route 42) with her family when they heard screams from a Police Officer, who was in pursuit of a young man.
The officer then discharged a round, which hit the woman in her back on the right side.
“We were all standing and this man run past us and then the Policeman that was chasing him fire off shots and miss the man, but hit my wife,” the husband of the injured woman told this newspaper following the incident.
Rodrigues was rushed to the city hospital by the Police. The publication understands that the family was told by the officer that he did not shoot the mother of 10, but rather it was the bandit he was pursuing.
However, the family members said they saw what had occurred and claimed that the Officer was trying to “cover up the matter”.
Moreover, the 18-year-old teenager who the Police was reportedly pursuing, was turned into Police custody the following day by his mother and denied being in possession of a firearm.
The mother of the youth told reporters that her son is not involved in any criminal activities; in fact, she disclosed that her son attends Chase Academy and is a football player who has earned several awards, as she pointed to the many trophies and certificates from the school.
The woman went on to explain that the teenager was at the park and was about to head into a bus, when a Police Officer fired a shot in the air and out of fear, the young man started to run.
“My son started to run and when (the Police) see my son running down Parliament Building, back there; he don’t know what the boy running for… and he open fire behind my son and end up hitting a woman sitting on a bench,” the woman stated.
She continued that the “They say meh son is a criminal and a thief, and how he snatch some chain and he had some bag, but they never expect that the child they shoot behind mother would have turned him in to Police.”
The mother expressed her disappointment with the actions of the Police, and called on the authorities to look into the matter and stop the Police from covering up what transpired on Tuesday last.
Meanwhile, the injured woman was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday morning and was only given a prescription of Ibuprofen. The woman’s daughter told this newspaper that she has been in pain ever since the incident.
