'Blackie's' death
Editorial
As we reported in our Thursday edition, Linden London was shot to death in a hail of bullets as he emerged from his Eccles hideout after an 11-hour siege, clothes afire and hands in the air in a gesture of surrender. His killing has evoked two types of responses, one mostly private and the other quite public. The private response engenders a feeling of relief that this notorious criminal who drove fear into the hearts of law abiding citizens and embarrassingly ran circles around the police has been at last silenced no matter the cost to society. The publicly ventilated response is one of outrage that, finally cornered, `Blackie', as he was better known, was riddled with bullets as he emerged under the impression that he would surrender and that the police would hold their fire. London was a thoroughly dangerous and remorseless criminal who was wanted, according to the police, for two murders and 14 robberies. His reign of terror was defined by the America Street robbery and the jeopardy to which he exposed hundreds of Guyanese that morning as he and his band of marauders clinically and ruthlessly ploughed through the city firing wildly and injuring bystanders. That this orgy of London's outlawry has come to an end will be welcomed by the crime weary members of the society. But this has come at a high price. No member of society can condone the manner in which London met his death in the full view of the public and media. It was clear to all present on Wednesday morning that a member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) under whom `Blackie' had trained had succeeded in getting him to agree to give himself up. When he emerged from the Toucan Guest House ready to surrender and was cut down by wave after wave of gunfire the operation swiftly changed from siege to killing. Had 'Blackie' been killed in his combat mode during the siege there could be no grounds for an outcry. However, the rules of engagement in an operation of this type must surely permit the possibility of a surrender which should be treated as such. This one definitely was not. It casts both the army and particularly the police in unflattering light. The police have come under close and repeated scrutiny for this type of `go ahead make my day', Clint Eastwood-type machismo. Shooting after shooting by the police of wanted and unwanted men have been placed in the category of extra-judicial killings. The standard police line is that X attacked a cop with a knife or some implement and the policeman defended himself by shooting X dead - not even defensively but sometimes in the head and chest. What foolhardiness! Families and relatives of these men oftentimes come forward with shocking tales of how they were gunned down in cold blood. The recent shooting of `Big Bird' in Campbellville falls into this category. And though under enormously difficult conditions, in the heat of a ferocious battle and physically draining siege, `Blackie's' killing has entered the calculus. If the right to life - the most fundamental of one's rights - can be so haphazardly decided on by the law enforcement authorities, what other right can be sacred and inviolable. Sure London had little consideration for the lives of his victims or protection of their rights. However, the moment those who are the state-appointed guardians begin to waver on these principles a dangerous precedent is being set and no one can be secure. Increasingly, the impotence of the police force in thwarting and rooting out criminals of London's repute and calibre is leading to a lack of concern in some sections of society about how these outlaws meet their end or are finally brought to justice. The blame for this is to be laid at the feet of the governments who have presided over the last three decades or so. The police force and its prosecutorial arm have been brought to their knees through poor pay, training and resources and are no match for 21st century crime cartels. While transnational crime networks with unlimited resources have mushroomed and cocaine smuggling and gunrunning have overrun society, Georgetown's Cabinet is still fiddling over dollars and cents. When criminals of 'Blackie's' ilk are taken before the courts, the police again fight a losing battle as prosecutors are no match for high-priced counsel and there is little in the way of solid forensic evidence and real old-fashioned investigation to secure convictions. Confessions beaten out of suspects remain the technique of choice for the police. Little wonder that sometimes when they have cornered criminals like 'Blackie' the police want it ended right there and then. The shooting of 'Blackie' won't go away just like that. The subsequent statement from the police that its servicemen were on orders to take `Blackie' dead or alive only complicates matters further. If the intention was to kill him why was a GDF officer negotiating his surrender? Or were the police and army operating on different wavelengths? The police must be highly commended for tracking London down despite being outwitted by him on so many other occasions. The operation was, however, marred by the final act which led to his death. There was also a reliance on saturation fire rather than a pinpointed tactical response bearing in mind that the operation was smack in the middle of a residential area. When he visited the soldier and policeman hospitalised in the operation, President Bharrat Jagdeo noted the meagre resources of the police and urged that the media support the joint services. Stabroek News will always support the work of the joint services but this cannot be unconditional. Where there are breaches of generally acceptable rules these must be pointed out. For our part, we urge the President and his government to ensure that much greater resources are provided to the police in this year's budget so that they can match the firepower and resources of the criminal cartels both on the ground and in the courts.
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