Sparendaam spectacle
December 18, 2020
The Guyana Police Force has an unparalleled ability to keep shooting itself in the foot. There it was again on Tuesday mishandling a situation which essentially involved nothing more than the inspection of documents at a roadblock, but which metamorphosed into an incident involving physical violence. The Force – in this case the officers at Sparendaam Police Station – ensured it would make the front pages by directing its imprudent attentions to the family of murdered cousins, Joel and Isaiah Henry.
Inevitably, the account of the GPF diverged markedly from that of the GHRA. As everyone who traverses the East Coast road knows, Sparendaam is a favourite spot for police roadblocks, and around 7.30 on the night of December 15th, a car driven by Colwyn Henry, the brother of Joel, that was also carrying Colwyn’s mother, Gail Johnson, and Isaiah’s father, Gladstone Henry, was stopped there along with other vehicles.
Colwyn Henry at the Sparendaam police station (Photo courtesy of Nigel Hughes)
December 17, 2020
The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) yesterday strongly condemned what it said was the “unprovoked brutality” suffered by the family of slain cousins Isaiah and Joel Henry at the hands of elements of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) at the Sparendaam Police Station on Tuesday night.
The GHRA said it rejects the “self-serving version” of the events released by the GPF. The police said that the ruckus began after Joel’s brother Colwyn could not produce his licence and defied instructions from the police all the while hurling profanities.