G.S.U. At It Again; City Man Charges He Was Beaten Up and Shot with Rubber Bullets

We’ve often reported on allegations of police brutality and how officers attached to the Gang Suppression Unit are accused of using excessive force—breaking into homes and beating up on residents. Well tonight, a nineteen year old resident of Burrell Boom is claiming that on Thursday morning, he was the victim of an attack by the GSU. Joshua Gillett, in the company of his attorney, Richard “Dickie” Bradley, says that he was shot twice to the abdomen with rubber bullets—and he has the injury to prove it. Gillett, a fisherman posted out at the Conch Shell Bay Fish Market, says that the officers came at him sometime after eight o’clock in the morning. He recounts what allegedly transpired; a callous beating before being shot.

Joshua Gillett, Claims Police Brutality

“The GSU force all up; they haul up and about eight of them and asked me to go on the ground. So I get down on the ground fi dehn man. When I get down on the ground, another one come and tell me get up and he put me ina the mud. He stomp me ina di mud, yo understand me sir. When I get ina di mud on my belly, all of them start to stomp up me—about five of them out of the eight weh come start to stomp me and beat me. Then another one weh mi deh across dah wah other yard, but he could see me. He ask the rest to excuse and when the rest excuse, he fire shot after me and shot me with rubber bullets. Shot me with rubber bullet pan the side boss and I deh on the ground di lay down. But the way I see it, dah dehn dah the criminal because dehn shot em and I noh di shot nobody and they noh find nothing illegal ina di area”

Joshua Gillett

Duane Moody

“So you complied with their request and they still shot you?”

Joshua Gillett

“Still shot me boss…yes boss. And the day before boss di same crowd weh shot me boss come and put up gun sign to me—come like this like dehn mean weh deh mi di say. Dehn shot me about eight-nine o’clock ina di morning.”

Duane Moody

“Why would they want to target you? Are you doing anything for them to come at you?”

Joshua Gillett

“No sir. I just di wait fi scrape my fish cause I scrape fish and I dah wah fisherman so I go around the Conch Shell Bay area the wait fi scrape my fish if somebody come and want I scrape fish so I noh understand why dehn man dehn di deal with me like this and dah noh di first time. It’s not the first time; dehn usually do it boss—beat mi. Dah di first time dehn shot mi, but yes boss dah usual beating on a weekly basis.”