Granville Foundation Calls for Front-Line Pull of Every Officer Linked to Fatal Police Shooting

The Granville Peace, Justice and Resource Development Foundation says it is outraged that police fatally shot a woman in Granville Square, St. James, on Sunday. The victim has been named as 45-year-old Lotoya Bulgin, who was also known as "Buju" and resided on Gunns Drive in Granville.

In a written release, the Foundation says the killing has deepened trauma in a neighbourhood still grieving earlier gun deaths this year. Since January, Granville has buried a four-year-old child, two teenagers and a 24-year-old; Bulgin was shot in daylight while people watched, the group added.

The Foundation notes the Police High Command's announcement that the officer concerned has been interdicted, and that the Independent Commission of Investigations and the Inspectorate and Professional Standards Oversight Bureau have begun their own reviews. It nevertheless wants every officer who took part in the operation withdrawn from front-line posts immediately and kept off active street duty until those inquiries conclude.

Public trust in the force can only return if the process is open, independent and credible, the Foundation said.