Dead or alive did not mean shoot on sight - cops, army - Gajraj says London had feigned surrender before Stabroek News February 15, 2000 The police and army had issued very clear instructions that Linden London also known as 'Blackie' was wanted dead or alive, according to a statement issued last week but both services say it did not mean shoot on sight. Both organisations accept that implicit in the term is the use of force to effect an arrest if the person designated as being wanted dead or alive refuses to surrender. They both accept too that it does not mean shoot on sight. However, it is a term with which the army is not comfortable, army spokesman, Capt Wycliffe McAllister said when asked by Stabroek News yesterday for an explanation of the army's interpretation of the term. He stressed yesterday that "the army had no problem if London was killed as a result of the need to use force in the attempt to apprehend him." Home Affairs Minister, Ronald Gajraj, in an invited comment, said that implicit in the term was the principle of minimum force. But he cautioned that the circumstances would determine the extent of force to be used. Commenting on the events at the Toucan Guest House on Wednesday morning when London was gunned down after he came out of the apartment in which he was holed up, Capt McAllister said that the units deployed to assist the police understood that they would use force if necessary to apprehend London. They understood too that if he surrendered and in surrendering posed no further threat to them or other persons involved in the exercise then he would be taken alive and turned over to the relevant authorities. Capt McAllister explained that the dialogue between himself and London to get him to throw out his weapons and come out of the burning building was carried out in good faith and was in accordance with the army's operating instructions. The army spokesman explained too that throughout the negotiations he and Capt Ward had requested that those deployed in the area at the time hold their fire. Capt McAllister said he was sure that the army personnel understood that to mean that they should not shoot at London if he had come out of the building in the manner he had been instructed to do with his hands clasped behind his head. The order "Hold your fire! Hold your fire!" was issued in response to the fire which erupted after London emerged from the building, according to McAllister. Stabroek News was unable to contact Commissioner of Police, Laurie Lewis, but Police Public Relations Officer, Senior Superintendent Ivelaw Whittaker, said that wanted dead or alive did not mean shoot on sight. Gajraj, commenting on the shooting of London on Wednesday morning, told Stabroek News that an investigation was being conducted into the incident as would happen whenever the police shot anyone. However, he said that he expected this investigation would be carried out jointly by the police and the army. Gajraj, stating that reports reaching him about the incident indicated that it was both the army and police units who fired at 'Blackie', said that the reaction of the police would have been conditioned by past encounters with the wanted man. He recalled that at Kaieteur Top, London had appeared to surrender then had thrown grenades at the police and effected his escape by jumping in the river; at the Ogle Airstrip, he threatened to shoot the policeman who had apprehended him before he managed to escape. Gajraj recounted that Capt McAllister's shout of 'hold your fire' was made after the firing had erupted. He noted that while London was asked to throw out his weapons he had only thrown out two, when the cache of arms he had was about six or seven weapons. Gajraj said too that what had to be remembered was that at the time it was the general feeling that there were persons other than London firing from the building and that immediately after Blackie emerged from the building there was what appeared to be gunfire, but which appears now to have been some of the live ammunition exploding in the fire. During the negotiations London had assured Capt McAllister that there was no other person in the building. Also, Gajraj said that it was known that London usually operated with gangs whose members have demonstrated a propensity to kill. Gajraj observed that what was still not clear was whether London was actually persuaded by Capt McAllister to surrender or if it was the fire which was engulfing the building that forced him to do so. During the negotiations, London discussed the option of remaining in the building and being burnt alive or killing himself, coming out with guns blazing or surrendering. Commenting on observations that other persons wanted by the police would be dissuaded from surrendering as a result of Wednesday's shooting, Gajraj pointed out that a number of them had done so in the past few weeks and there were no reports of any abuses. Dealing with the question of compensation for the damage to the Toucan apartment building, Gajraj said that there had been reports that London had been seen entering the guest house on several occasions but that these reports had not yet been put in writing. It was reported that London had checked into the Toucan Guest House on Monday and registered under the name of Paul Jones. It was the police's belief that he had planned to commit some crime at the weekend. He was wanted by the police in connection with two murders and at least 14 robberies including the daring mid-morning hold-up of an America Street cambio and cambio dealer. Earlier in the month, the police were ready to ambush London during a robbery they had heard that he had planned to carry out in the Parika area but that robbery did not take place.