DEATH OF GAVIN DOUGLAS IN POLICE CUSTODY DEMANDS AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION

I condemn in the strongest possible terms the death of Gavin KennardDouglas, a 32-year-old man who entered the Vreed-en-Hoop Police Station live on Saturday 31 October 2026 and died while in police custody. By the Guyana Police Force’s own account, Mr. Douglas was taken to the station at about 11:36 hrs., was restrained by ranks at about 12:00 hrs. after allegedly resisting, and was found frothing at the mouth in the lockups at about 12:45hrs. He died at the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

Whatever he was accused of, Gavin Douglas was presumed innocent. He was in the custody of the State, which owed him a duty to protect his life and his welfare. Nothing the police have said so far explains how a man in their care was found in medical distress less than an hour after they say they restrained him. I extend my deepest condolences to his family, who deserve the truth and not a press release.

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The investigation into his death cannot be left to the police. The Office of Professional Responsibility is a unit of the Guyana Police Force, sitting within the same chain of command as the ranks whose conduct is in question. That is, the police are investigating themselves, and no family nor the Guyanese public can be expected to accept its conclusions.