WPA welcomes charges for Quindon Bacchus’ murder, demands accountability also for higher ups

The DPP recommended charging Lance Corporal Kristoff DeNobrega for murder for the fatal shooting of Bacchus. Charges were also recommeded for Lance Corporal Thurston Simon and Sergeant Dameion McLennon for obstructing the course of justice in relation to the murder. 23-year-old Bacchus, the father of one, was shot six times- five times to the back and once to the chest. The post mortem report, released by the police, said he died from multiple gunshot wounds.

The party credited the pressure of public protest in forcing the Government to act. The protest was instrumental in this latest development, said the party, and saluted the family of the deceased and the Golden Grove community, in general, for standing firm despite myriad efforts to get them to cease their protest.

However, the WPA said it still has questions about the investigations. They raised that, “From all indications there were more than three ranks at the scene of the crime. We therefore ask what role they played and why charges have not been instituted against them? We raise this question in light of previous instances whereby charges were laid against persons whom the police could not successfully prosecute while others closer to the crime were protected.”

The party is demanding the investigators reveal who gave the orders for the operation in question and why that functionary was not charged. The police said they were carrying out a sting operation,  in the area, for illegal guns. The party made known that it is equally important that those who sanctioned the operation be also held accountable. “It is hardly likely that the alleged shooter or shooters could have acted without the consent of others in the chain of command,” said the WPA.

Against the background of questions and the investigations apparently not looking at all sides or not making all sides public, the WPA is calling on the wider society, in particular those tasked with policing the justice system, to keep a close eye on this case. The party is also urging the family and the community not to allow the institution of charges against the accused to distract them from the larger quest for justice.

Saying nothing short of the whole truth should suffice, the party added that “The top brass of the police must not be allowed to use these charges as a mask to protect others who may have been part of the crime.”