Investigate all police shootings

THE EDITOR: Please allow me space in your column to express my views to the recent news reports relating to police shootings. I witnessed an incident last year June, which involved my cousin, Aldrin Alexander Noel, now deceased, who was killed by a police officer. A jeep of officers was in our area and parked on a part of the road where they “considered” themselves to be out of sight. My cousin was under a neighbour’s house cleaning his shoes when a group of plain clothes police officers walked up to him brandishing guns. He was startled and being frightened, he started to run towards some nearby bushes when one officer shot him. Unaware of his wound, he continued running into the bushes.

Exactly five minutes later, they dragged him out of the bushes — handcuffed and bleeding — and placed him to lie down on the hot pitch. When we told them to take him to the hospital they replied “leave him there, leave him there to f....ing die.” Then they asked us what was his name. Is this how our heroes go about doing their jobs, they shoot first and ask questions later? My brothers removed our cousin and placed him under a tree in the cool, where he lay for about 15 more minutes, still handcuffed. My brother got his car to take him to the hospital, when the police officer that shot him said that he had to go along to give the report. We only knew that these men were police officers when that officer indicated so. Other officers returned to the area later that evening to conduct an inquiry.

The officer who killed my cousin said that my cousin shot at him, which was a blatant lie, as he had no gun. We learned that the officers were from the Morvant Police Station. The officer in charge of the inquiry was chastising his subordinate officers about the way in which the matter was handled. We were going to pursue the matter but we were receiving death threats from our so-called heroes who are supposed to “Protect and Serve.”

In my conclusion, I believe that all shootings should be investigated thoroughly, whether the police were shot at or the police shot first. I also believe that the police murdered my cousin and they did all they could to cover it up. There is a saying “What goes around comes around” and I know that my cousin’s death will be avenged. God does not sleep.

DAVEIA DYETT
San Juan