(Kaieteur News) – The grief-stricken mother of 16-year-old Altaf King is pleading for justice following the controversial death of her only son, as relatives, friends, and community members demand a thorough and impartial investigation into what many are calling a case of police brutality.

King, a former student of Skeldon Line Path Secondary School and a young mason learning his trade, lost his life on Thursday evening under circumstances that have sharply divided official accounts from eyewitness testimony, igniting public outrage across the Corentyne region.

According to the Guyana Police Force, King, of Eliza Mary Race Course, Corentyne, was riding his motorcycle and attempted to flee officers pursuing him in a force-assigned vehicle. Police say he struck a utility pole and sustained fatal injuries. He was transported to the No. 75 Village Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.