The fatal shooting of a deportee from England by police officers on Monday, November 7, has sparked outrage by some family members.
They say they do not know for what reason their loved one was shot by the police, but the lawmen are contending that the man pulled his firearm at them.
Dead is 31-year-old Richard Brown, alias Ritchie, of Galina in the parish.
Information to The Times is that family members, who gathered at the Port Maria Hospital last Monday, are contending that Brown had just finished taking a shower and had left home, when he was fatally shot by the police in a section of the Galina community. They say they do not know for what reason he was shot by the police.
However, the police say that Brown, who was reporting on bail for various gun related offences, had pointed a firearm at them.
Reports from the Corporate Communications Unit (CCU) are that at about 12:30 p.m. in Galina, Brown pulled a firearm upon seeing the police and pointed it in their direction.
The police took action and fired in Brown’s direction, and he was fatally shot. The police rushed Brown to the Port Maria Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A firearm, suspected to be that of the deceased, was recovered at the scene of the shooting, police said.
In the meantime, the matter has been reported to the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) and the Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI).
PULLED THE FIREARM
In speaking to the North Coast Times on Friday, November 11 regarding the incident, head of the St Mary police, deputy superintendent Dwight Powell said that the information he had regarding the incident is that Brown pulled a firearm at the police.
DSP Powell explained that a police team was making enquiries in the area, when Brown was seen on the roadway. Brown then spun around and pulled his firearm at the police.
The police took evasive action and Brown was fatally shot.
DEPORTED
According to DSP Powell, Brown was deported from England in 2014. The cop says he was deported after spending nine years in prison for kidnapping and a drug related offence.
“Since his (Richard Brown’s) deportation, he has been charged on two separate counts of robbery with aggravation and illegal possession of firearm. He was out on condition of bail that he report to the Oracabessa police everyday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.,” DSP Powell pointed out.
Brown’s matters were before the St Mary Parish Court and also the Circuit Court.
