Some of the team's findings

Reading from a document prepared by the investigation team, which included Senior Superintendent Cedric Caesar, Superintendent Vibert Smith and Deputy Superintendent Seelall Persaud, the commissioner said the team found the incident to "very unfortunate, regrettable and sad."

The team found no evidence that the five youths were engaged in any illegal activities "on that fateful day on the 1st of March 2003."

There was also no evidence that the youths were armed with any lethal or offensive weapon neither was there any evidence that any of the persons were wearing or were in possession of any wigs.

"From all appearances these young men were going about their business in a lawful manner even though the car was taken without the permission of the owner and that the driver may have only been the holder of a provisional license according to a relative."

On the other hand, the commissioner said that the policemen involved in the incident were on official duties having been detailed by a lance corporal who told them of their duties and read the firing order to them."

According to the report during the patrol the senior rank who was in charge received information that about two vehicles, a silver grey car and a burgundy one had left the East Coast with armed men and this information had been relayed to the other ranks.

"While on Sheriff street, proceeding north in the vicinity of Tennessee Night Club, they saw a silver grey vehicle, PHH 8115 travelling in the opposite direction with five persons and this, according to the investigation, aroused their suspicion hence their decision to proceed and check on this vehicle."

McDonald said that the report stated that both vehicles came to a halt after they attempted to intercept the vehicle and the police men exited the vehicle "and that one of the ranks discharged a number of rounds in an indiscriminate manner resulting in injuries and the death of one of the persons."

Among other things found was that "enough caution was not exercised by the police ranks and some degree of recklessness accompanied their actions."

He said that a number of other recommendations were made but it was "not prudent for me to disclose them now because I would be showing disrespect of the DPP's chambers, I would be showing disrespect for the Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority." He said as soon as that process was completed they would make the necessary disclosures and whatever was recommended the police would deal with it.

McDonald said that the force was "committed to see this matter dealt with professionally to the end and we will continue to urge persons to exercise caution, to be considerate and don't allow emotion to take control over them because we would not wish to have a situation where persons tend to put pressure on public servants to deal with matters in a certain way."

He said he had to allow the legal process and the rule of law to prevail.

Contacted yesterday President of the Guyana Bar Association Nigel Hughes, said that he was happy that the report had been forwarded to the DPP's chambers since he had more faith in that office than the police.

But he did have one problem with the findings revealed by McDonald and that was the part that only one officer had fired on the youths.

He said according to investigations conducted by the association which saw them interviewing "persons who were targeted and persons who witnessed the incident" a minimum of three policemen had fired into the vehicle. He said that the police report was in "serious contradiction" to what actually took place.

According to Hughes the police had not recovered the fragments of the bullets fired into the car nor the one fired into the teeth of Gray which were knocked out by the bullet. Hughes said that after a preliminary investigation was conducted involving the car it was released to the owner and the association had recovered the teeth and the fragments.

The police had later taken repossession of the car after there was public concern that valuable evidence could have been gathered from the vehicle.

In an earlier telephone interview with Stabroek News, one of the youths, Quacy Heywood, had recalled that as the vehicle neared Duncan street, Grey decided to stop and ask whether his sister's lesson was over and it was at this point that the young men observed a green CRV vehicle pull up alongside them.

The young man had recalled that the men in the other vehicle appeared to be saying something but they were playing music and could not hear them. At that stage, one of the men drew a gun "...and [Grey] holla, don't shoot, don't shoot, but they start shooting."

The 19-year-old had said that Grey, who was driving, was bleeding by this time and the policemen exited their vehicle and proceeded to drag him from the driver's seat before ordering the rest of them to come out of the car.

"Everybody come out de car except [Douglas] and they tell us to lie on de ground," Heywood had stated. He further told this newspaper that by that time, they had realised that the men were law enforcement officers because they were each wearing bullet proof vests marked 'police.'

He reported that the policemen asked them who else was in the car while threatening to shoot again, "and I call out to [Douglas] and tell he come out de car but he said he couldn't move. Then one of the police pull he out and seh 'dis' one get shoot, leh we carry he to the hospital.'"

The police then placed Grey and Douglas into their vehicle and transported them to the hospital while Heywood, Randolph Goodluck and O'Neil King were escorted to the Brickdam police station where they were placed in custody.

The young man's account of the incident also contradicts the police findings that only one officer fired shots at the car.