P.S.B. Begins Investigation; P.M. to Make Statement

Wilfred ‘Sedi’ Elrington

One person we haven’t heard from is the Prime Minister, but that will change when he addresses the press on Thursday, according to the Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Elrington. Elrington says an internal investigation has already commenced through the Professional Standards Branch.  While Assistant Commissioner of Police Chester Williams was in attendance, he was not allowed to comment on the progress of that investigation or what has been revealed thus far.  Likewise, Elrington says that he has perused the reports submitted by Cameron Usher Senior and the three officers who were present during the operation.  Elrington maintains that nowhere in the report does Usher Senior mention that his son was injured during the shooting.

Wilfred ‘Sedi’ Elrington, Minister of Home Affairs

“There is instructions from the Prime Minister that we will do all in our power to try to ensure the safety and security of the minor and we will deploy whatever resources the government needs to deploy, with a view to trying to find him.  In relation to the Professional Standards Branch, I can tell you that I have had discussions with Mr. Chester Williams who is here with us now.  He has already started on his own to do investigations and in fact, police had taken four statements, one from the father and three from the police officers who actually went into the field where the marijuana was being cultivated.  Those four statements have also been handed over already to Mr. Chester Williams and in fact the instructions from the Prime Minister is that he should in fact get on the job as quickly as possible.  The prime minister intends to have a meeting tomorrow morning with the senior command of the police force, as well as myself, to be fully briefed on the matter all that is transpiring up to tomorrow morning and he proposes to make a public statement to the public in due course.  So he’s leaving no stone unturned and he’s very concerned about this matter.  But I tell you that we have had sight of the statement of the father and in his statement he made no reference to the son actually.  Nothing in his statement and it’s quite a lengthy statement.  He did say that they were walking through a path where his son was in front of him, he was behind, he heard a noise and he looked around and saw three members of the GSU in camouflage.  Shots were fired, he thought there were about fifteen.  He ran in one direction, the son ran in the other direction but that is about all he said in relation to the shots.  He heard about fifteen and at that time he ran in one direction.  His son ran in the other direction.  There was no indication from him that he saw his son injured or hurt.”

More on the press conference will be coming up later in the newscast.