Suspected bandit shot dead while in Police custody

A 45-year-old taxi driver who was arrested by the Police on Saturday last after he was suspected of being involved in a robbery at Herstelling, East Bank Demerara (EBD), on May 1, 2021, is now dead after he was shot while in Police custody.
Peter Headley of Dowding Street, Kitty, Georgetown, and another man were taken into custody by Police at Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara, on Saturday evening.
At the time, both men where occupants of a car that was being driven Headley.
Police are claiming that a television set that is suspected to have been stolen during the armed robbery earlier in the month was found during a search of the vehicle Headley was driving on Saturday evening.
After the discovery, the two men were arrested, and Headley was placed in the front passenger seat of his car which was being driven by an armed Police rank. Another Police rank was in the back seat of the vehicle while the other suspect was taken into the Police vehicle with the other ranks.
On their way to the Providence Police Station, it was alleged that Headley reached under the seat and pulled out what appeared to be a firearm, causing the armed rank to discharge a round, hitting him to his body.
The injured mas was instead rushed to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where he succumbed while receiving medical treatment. The Guyana Police Force (GPF) has failed to state whether a firearm was discovered in the vehicle following the shooting incident.
It is still unclear of how the victim ended up with a firearm, after Police in a statement said that Headley’s vehicle was searched by the Police ranks prior to the two officers joining the said vehicle.
Nevertheless, the GPF said the matter is now under investigations by its Office of Professional Responsibility.
When Guyana Times visited the dead man’s home in Kitty on Sunday, no relatives were at home but persons in the community related that Headley was not a thief, and “was a really nice person”.