– Dead cop’s family upset over not being contacted
By Vanhu Manikchand
A Police Constable took his own life on Tuesday evening after shooting his girlfriend, also a Police rank, following an argument during which he reportedly accused her of being unfaithful.
Dead is 20-year-old Constable 22834 Clement Cockfield, of Friendship, East Coast Demerara; while woman Constable 23464 Shanice Fraser, 21, of Lot 28 Middle Street, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara, is currently in a critical condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC).
Shanice Fraser
The incident occurred sometime around 08:30pm at the La Grange Police Station, where the couple was stationed. Fraser, who has a two-year-old daughter, was reportedly shot four times to her upper body – once to her back, shoulder, arm and throat – while Cockfield shot himself once to the head.
Guyana Times International understands that the couple have been together for approximately six months and recently, they were having troubles in the relationship.
“They were starting to get a lil talking now and then….because he was a very jealous person. He never used to want she talk to people, go out without him…,” Fraser’s aunt, Rennet Layers, told this newspaper.
According to Police reports, the two Constables worked different shifts at the La Grange Station and on Tuesday night, Cockfield reported for anti-crime patrol duty and uplifted a .38 service revolver with six rounds, while Fraser had just completed a tour of duty.
A few minutes later, they were seen on the stairway of the Police station and gunshots were subsequently heard.
It was reported that Fraser ran down the stairs into the yard and was seen bleeding profusely. She was assisted by other ranks on duty when Cockfield pursued her and discharged more shots at her.
Fraser attempted to escape the enraged man but collapsed in the station’s compound. The Police further stated that other ranks pleaded with Cockfield to stand down but instead he turned the gun on himself, firing the final shot to his head.
The couple were picked up and rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where Cockfield was pronounced dead on arrival. His injured girlfriend was subsequently transferred to the GPHC for further treatment. She is currently in the Intensive Care Unit and is expected to undergo more surgeries.
Meanwhile, the parents of the young man are claiming that the story they were told of what transpired does not add up.
“(The Police) telling me that my son shot the girl, then shot himself; he get up back again and come towards the vehicle that they were trying to put the girl in and some officer go fuh hold he and he shot himself again… but I’m saying if a man shot himself in the head, how can he get up back and shot himself again. I feel something of the sort ain’t right because, honestly, it is really hard to believe this,” the distraught father posited.
At the time, Cockfield’s family was retrieving his belongings from the La Grange Police Station. His father related that the 20-year-old has been serving the Police Force for over three years, having joined immediately after school.
On the other hand, Cockfield’s mother told this newspaper that she saw her son earlier on Tuesday and he showed no signs of being distressed.
Clement Cockfield
“He didn’t say anything, he didn’t tell me anything. He didn’t come as if he had a problem or anything,” the woman cried as she recalled the final moments with her son.
She noted that after spending about three hours at home, Cockfield left for work. Sometime later in the evening, the woman said she heard about a shooting incident involving Police Officers and after attempts to contact her son and his girlfriend proved futile, she decided to travel to West Demerara.
“Out of curiosity, we just decided to take a car and come over. When we reach (at the hospital), they say is a Police shot himself and nobody don’t know who is the Police. So I decided to go in and then is when I see is my son lying down, dead in his uniform,” the woman recalled.
She expressed her anger at the fact that no one from the Station made contact with any of Cockfield’s relatives to inform them about what had transpired.
“They apologise for that, but how could you apologise saying everybody was confused. I just come out of curiosity and when I reach, everybody was in shock… It’s painful, he is just 20 (years). He didn’t even start enjoying anything, he ain’t even live his life yet,” the aggrieved woman cried.
Meanwhile, the relatives of 21-year-old Fraser told this newspaper on Wednesday that they are not sure what really transpired between the couple, noting that the mother of one appeared fine before she left for work on Tuesday morning.
