Residents along the Upper East Coast Demerara corridor have widened their protest actions, cutting off traffic on the main thoroughfare with old trucks and other debris.
The protest began early Tuesday with barricades at Golden Grove.. This have since extended to Ann’s Grove to the east and Buxton to the west. Police appeared powerless to stop the protesters as they piled debris upon debris while demanding justice for Quindon Bacchus the 25-year-old youth gunned down by a member of the Guyana Police Force close to three weeks ago.
Bacchus was laid to rest on Sunday and on Monday news broke that the policeman who killed him was released from close arrest and is now on open arrest. Angered by this new development and the given the sloth in bringing charges to the rank, residents from as early as 6. am took to the streets, blocking the roadway and vowing to keep up a steady presence to keep up their demonstrations.
Several persons heading to work have been left stranded, some have opted to return home, while others parked their vehicles and walked to their destination.
Meanwhile, in a statement urging residents to desist from blocking the roadway, police clarified that the suspect is still confined to police headquarters.
“The Guyana Police Force is cognizant that there is a blockage of a section of the East Coast of Demerara road in the vicinity of Golden Grove which is disrupting the flow of traffic. The GPF is urging persons to desist from this illegal act and clear the roadway.
The GPF would like to debunk the false claims being made that the policeman involved in the shooting death of Quindon Bacchus was released from police custody.
In fact, the police rank in question is under open arrest and confined to Police Headquarters. The matter is still under investigation,” the statement read.
