Family of Man Who Perished While Detained in Hot Police Van Say They Are Being Ignored
Derrick Uh
The family of Derrick Uh, the twenty-year-old man who died while police detained him in a hot prisoner van, says efforts to get the government to meet with their attorney have fallen on deaf ears and they have grown tired. Today, Shanelly Uh, Derrick’s older sister, told News Five via phone that their attorney, Senior Counsel Dean Barrow, has attempted repeatedly to get an audience with the Attorney General’s Office to arrive at a settlement on compensation for Uh’s death. So far, they have not received any favourable response. News Five’s Marion Ali has the story.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Shanelly Uh, the older sister to Derrick Uh, says that her family has grown impatient with the government, specifically the Attorney General’s Ministry after their attorney; Senior Counsel Dean Barrow’s repeated attempts to discuss a settlement regarding her brother’s death. Twenty-year-old Derrick Uh died in a prisoner van after he was detained at the San Joaquin fair in August 2022, allegedly for indecently touching a woman. Officers transported him to the Corozal Police Station in that vehicle, but forgot to remove him. He later perished inside the van. Today, his sister told News Five via phone that they’ve grown weary of waiting for answers.
On the Phone: Shanelly Uh
On the Phone: Shanelly Uh, Sister of Derrick Uh
“We were waiting for the response, but other news came to my mother because they say they already were trying to get one answer like with the lawyer but we’re not sure of it. We are asking, first of all, for a compensation because up to now, nobody has ever helped us, only family members, friends, and with that, we will try to – if justice can be done for my brother’s death.”
But a compensation is not all that the Uh family is seeking. They also want the criminal case to proceed against the police officers who are culpable for the death of Derrick Uh.
On the Phone: Shanelly Uh
“What will happen with all the police that were involved in my brother’s death? Because up to now, we only know that they’re not working. I don’t know. I’m not really sure what happened with them.”
Four police officers with ranks from Corporal to Inspector, who were jointly charged with manslaughter, are still before the courts on that charge. Meanwhile, after we spoke with Shanelly Uh, we reached out to the Attorney General, Magali Marin, who informed News Five that her office had reached out to the Commissioner of Police for instructions on how to proceed with the matter and that response took a while to come back. In quoting from a WhatsApp message from the A.G., she informed, “The details are that from the twenty-second of November, 2022, the Litigation Unit sent a legal memo to the Commissioner, and we only got a response yesterday. We then responded to Mr. Barrow yesterday and he responded to us today,”. The next step, according to Marin is that the parties involved will negotiate the settlement sum via exchange of letters. Marion Ali for News Five.
