DPP likely to receive report this week on cop’s fatal shooting of bus driver

Mar 23, 2020 News

The police sergeant who accidentally shot and killed Mahdia bus driver Cleon Gomes last February may know soon whether he will face manslaughter charges.

Cleon Gomes

An official expressed optimism that police will complete their investigation this week and legal advice be sought. A report is also to be sent to the Police Complaints Authority.
Cleon Gomes, 36, of 111 Miles, Mahdia, Region 8, was shot to his left shoulder on February 27, during a dispute with another man at the Number 72 bus park. He succumbed shortly after.
According to reports, the police sergeant said that he was drinking with Gomes and other bus drivers when a miner and Gomes got into an altercation.
He alleged that the miner was about to chop Gomes with a cutlass when he opened fire to wound the attacker.
Unfortunately, he shot Gomes instead, the policeman said.
From reports reaching Kaieteur News, the rank was not subjected to a medical examination to ascertain how much alcohol he had consumed.
Sources said that the detained miner claimed that he was armed with a length of wood, rather than a cutlass, during the altercation with Gomes.
Investigators reportedly have no evidence to support the policeman’s claim that the miner had a cutlass.
The rank was placed under close arrest while a team from the Police Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) conducted the investigation.