Fraser denies assaulting 60-year-old
-strike events enquiry closes


Stabroek News
September 30, 1999

The Commission of Enquiry into events during the public service strike wrapped up its hearings yesterday with Police Superintendent Leon Fraser denying that he assaulted a 60-year-old woman and forced his way into a Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) building on the night of June 15.

The officer also declared that, during his 14 years as a policeman, his "professional manner" had made him a "target for unjustified criticisms and allegations by persons bent on breaking the law and disrupting order in the country."

This statement came as Fraser ended his testimony on the stand, during which he faced examination by counsel to the commission Mortimer Cumberbatch, Police representative Bernard De Santos, SC and GPSU counsel, Rex McKay SC.

On Monday, 60-year-old Joan Adams had told Commissioner, Justice Carl Singh that she had been assaulted by Fraser, who had been among three black clothes policemen who had forced their way into the GPSU building.

However, yesterday Fraser said that Adams was lying when she said that he had grabbed her and held a gun to her. He further told the court that when Adams had testified on Monday at the Public Service Appellate Tribunal on Brickdam, that had been the first time he had seen her.

The superintendent was the first of three witnesses that day, preceding Lance Corporal Lennox Thornhill and Matthew Jordan, a self employed barber who testified to being arrested by Fraser on that same night.

Led by Cumberbatch, Fraser told the court that on the night of the 15th he had received a transmission over the police network. Acting on the transmission, Fraser said that he and a party of four policemen from the anti-crime unit had gone to Regent and New Garden Street in the vicinity of the GPSU building.

Upon arrival, Fraser said that he saw a wooden log placed across the road. The officer said that upon disembarking he spotted four persons, whom he later discerned to be men, standing in the western end of the GPSU compound next to the GPSU building itself. He then told of seeing the men pelting in his direction and then hearing bottles shatter on the road just in front of him.

Fraser told the court that he ran towards the men who ran away from him. Two were said to have run into the GPSU building bottom flat, slamming the door behind them.

By that time, Fraser said that he had run into the GPSU compound through an opening in the eastern fence which was broken down and was able to catch one of the fleeing men.

The other man, according to Fraser ran around the southern side of the building with LC Thornhill in pursuit.

Fraser said that he took the man he had caught, whose name he later learned was Wilfred Hope to the force vehicle where he was soon joined by Thornhill with the man he had arrested - whose name was discovered to be Matthew Jordan.

Before this, however, Fraser told the court that he saw an elderly woman exit the bottom flat of the GPSU building through the same door that the two fleeing men had run through when they entered the flat.

Fraser said that both of the arrested men were placed in the vehicle and as he was embarking on the vehicle, he heard the woman, who by then was on the GPSU bridge, say loudly "Fraser, you ain't mean fuh don but ah know wha ah gon do to you".

Fraser testified that he could not recognise the shouter on that night nor did he recognise the woman who took the stand yesterday.

He said that he proceeded to Brickdam Police Station where Hope and Jordan were booked and recorded.

He then noted that "At no time during the effect of the two arrests did I point a gun at anyone nor did I assault anyone."

Questioned by Justice Singh as to whether he had specifically assaulted Adams, Fraser denied this, noting "I had no contact with any female in the GPSU compound that night [and] neither did any of the ranks under my command enter the GPSU building that night".

The floor was then left open to McKay. Under cross-examination, Fraser conceded that while Monday had been the first day he had heard Adams testify, it had not been the first time he had heard allegations about police brutality on the night of June 15.

According to Fraser, on the morning of June 16 he had first heard of the allegation through Crime Chief Floyd McDonald.

McKay then sought to ask what had been told to him by McDonald but De Santos objected on the grounds that such testimony would be hearsay.

Justice Singh, however pointed out that at the enquiry, the rules of hearsay were being relaxed and allowed the question to pass.

Fraser then reported that McDonald had told him that some elderly woman was alleging that she was assaulted by Fraser.

Calling the testimony a "cock and bull statement intended to set up a defence", McKay drew Fraser's attention to the section where he had written the words allegedly said by the woman.

McKay highlighted the words ".. wha ah gon do" and asked Fraser to spell them, which the officer did in the way above.

The lawyer then questioned whether or not Thornhill had been around when the statement had been prepared, to which Fraser responded in the negative.

He also added that he had not shown the LC his statement.

Lance Corporal Thornhill was later called to the stand and led by Cumberbatch.

Thornhill's testimony included all details covered by Fraser's testimony pertaining to the sighting of the four men.

Like Fraser before him, he also reported seeing two men run into GPSU bottom flat, slamming the door behind them while he had gained access to the compound through an opening in the broken down fence. He also recalled seeing the old woman and hearing her shouts and like Fraser, also volunteered that "at no time during the effect of my arrest did I place a gun at anyone's head nor did I assault or threaten anyone nor did I make any forced entry into the PSU building".

The similarity of the two officers' testimony was remarked upon by McKay when it was his turn to cross-examine the witness. Through his questions, he established that the two men had even spelled the woman's creolese words the same way with the exception of the word "ain't" which Thornhill had spelled "ent". McKay then suggested that Thornhill had, in fact, copied Fraser's statement and that the two had collaborated to set up a defence of not having entered the building.

This was denied by Thornhill. Thornhill said that he had been told by his wife of an allegation of abuse being made against black clothes policemen who had been at the GPSU compound. His wife had in turn heard the allegation on the news.

Thornhill said his wife had told him about the allegation that he had placed a gun to the head of someone, prompting McKay to ask why he had then inserted the line about not entering PSU.

The witness eventually answered that this was simply a form he had adapted to write the statement. Mckay drew the court's attention to the fact that both statements beginning "at no time .." were at the same point in the two men's testimony.

McKay closed his cross-examination by re-asserting that the statement had been concocted, which Thornhill denied.

De Santos then examined the witness who disclosed that he had been at a meeting with McDonald and Fraser on the 16th.

Thornhill also maintained that he had not threatened anyone with a gun, that he had not seen anyone so threatened and that he had also not kicked any of the two men arrested.

After De Santos closed, McKay rose to his feet again and grilled Thornhill about the meeting with McDonald. He eventually got Thornhill to concede that he had first heard of the allegations from McDonald and not, as he had said earlier, his wife.

The LC told the court that he had forgotten about the earlier meeting.

Next to testify was Matthew Jordan, who was led by counsel to the commission Mortimer Cumberbatch. Jordan reported that on July 15 at about 2330 hrs, he was among a group of about 10 people who were at the GPSU building.

Jordan reported that he had been by a window when he had looked out and seen a black clothes vehicle. He told the court that at the time, five persons had been in the building and five in the yard. He later retracted this statement after intense grilling by De Santos and relied on his statement given earlier to the Commission which said that all ten had been in the building.

The barber spoke of hearing gunfire, upon which he ducked and ran into the toilet along with four or five other persons.

He told of hearing the front door being kicked open and then the locked toilet door being kicked open. He told the court that while in the toilet he next heard the old lady (Adams) hollering "Fraser, don't beat me up, don't beat me up".

According to Jordan, one of the black clothes policemen whom he knew as "Curry" had placed a Berreta to his head. The young man said that he ended up showing his GDF ID card to the officer, after which he and another man he knew as Paul were taken out of the building to the police vehicle. He said that he and Paul were then taken to Brickdam Police station where, after being searched, his ID was taken by Fraser.

After receiving the ID and taking down his address, Fraser was said to have told Jordan that he could go and that they would keep Paul.

Under cross-examination by McKay, Jordan identified Fraser and Thornhill as two of the policeman who had entered the building and also spoke of another two who were not in court.

McKay then deferred to De Santos who immediately questioned Jordan on whether he was a member of the GDF, to which Jordan responded "No".

Asked why then he had produced the ID, the young man muttered that when Fraser had entered the building, he had heard him say "We come fuh kill" and had then produced the ID card.

De Santos expressed dissatisfaction and instead suggested to Jordan that he had been using the card to make people believe he was a GDF member.

Jordan agreed with this and also told the court that he had been discharged from the GDF since 1995 because of his diabetic condition.

Questioned whether his written statement to the Commission had been complete, Jordan, after answering "yes", retracted this and disclosed that he had left something out.

Asked by De Santos why he had left anything out, the witness responded that he had not remembered. This prompted the lawyer to ask whether Joan Adams had helped him remember. After some hesitation, Jordan answered "yes".

De Santos then asked whether Adams had helped him to remember the part about Adams saying "Don't beat me up" but Jordan maintained that he had heard that himself.

The conclusion of Jordan's testimony effectively brought the Commission of Inquiry, which has been sitting since July 13, to an end. Commissioner Singh is to submit his report in due course.

The Commission of Enquiry was one of the terms of resumption for the end of the 55-day public service strike.

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Guyana: Land of Six Peoples