According to lawyer Jomo Thomas, his chamber has received a report from the police regarding the investigation into the death of Cjea Weekes.
Speaking on BoomFM‘s OMG morning show on Tuesday, Thomas said several things need to be highlighted.
“Among them are: redacting certain parts of the statements so that you cannot see what people are saying and supplying pictures of the scene that are absolutely useless as you cannot understand what the photo is depicting”.
Based on the report, Thomas believes there is sufficient evidence to charge at least the driver of the vehicle with manslaughter.
“A witness to the incident told police they were directly behind Cjea and he was looking back as the police were on top of him. The police claim they were 25-30 feet behind Cjea”.
“So clearly the most they could have charged him with if they had detained him was a traffic offense.”
Thomas alleges that police chased him and “essentially killed him”.
“I know where the incident occurred. That road is awful, and it appears both Cjea and the police did not seem to know it. As Cjea told his Mon they knocked him off the bike, the police vehicle ran off the road, hit a wall, and ripped off a tire”.
Thomas said that PM Gonsalves recommended the corner’s inquest very early in the incident, which is true in cases like these where there is clear doubt as to how someone who is part of the state’s care or under the law might have died.
“A proper investigation should have been conducted, the file handed over to the DPP, and then they can decide if the driver of the vehicle or all the police involved should be charged with crimes”.
“I cannot fathom the thought of the police chasing a young man on a bike even if they think he does not have proper registration, and chasing him to his death”, said Thomas.
Thomas said somebody should pay for the death of Cjea Weeks criminally.
According to allegations by Thomas; “Cjea lost his life due to the recklessness of the police officers who were pursuing him. He did not commit mass murder, he did not rob anyone. Here you have a teenager who was at best joyriding when he was killed”.
“If you compare what the witnesses said to what the police said, you know they are lying”, Thomas said.
Cjea Weekes died on Sunday, 6 February, at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital following what the Police said was an accident on 2 February.
The Weekes family has retained Thomas.
