Policeman dies after being stabbed at school fair

While persons were still trying to come to grips with the kidnapping of a young lady in Vermont, a crime not normally seen here, another incident, also new to our shores, took place: the killing of a police officer.

On Monday, while manning the entrance at the Belmont Primary School fair, police officer 602 Giovanni Charles was stabbed and later died.{{more}}

Reports are that Charles had tried to get a man who had entered the fair without paying the EC$2 entrance fee to leave when the situation escalated, resulting in him being stabbed in the neck, an injury to which he later succumbed.

After being stabbed, Charles was placed in a wheelbarrow, after which he was transferred to a pick-up truck and taken to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH).

On Wednesday, speaking after Charles’ autopsy at the MCMH, the dead policeman’s father Douglas Pompey described his son’s passing as “shocking news”.

Pompey, from Old Montrose, stressed that the news has hit home so hard, that he hasn’t even found the strength to cry, as he is still in disbelief.

Of his son, Pompey said, “I can’t really believe he’s gone, he was a very good person, mannerly and everything; he come up in a good way.”

The confused father said that when he heard his son was injured, he went to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH) and, “that’s when I realize he really dead. I ain’t cry up to now. I miss he; I don’t know what happened”.

Pompey said that his son wanted to join the army, but they encouraged him to join the police force, so that he would not become idle.

Originally from Lowmans Leeward, Charles grew up in New Montrose with his mother and was a police officer for three years before he met his tragic end.

Carlos Pompey, Charles’ uncle, described his nephew as, “a decent guy”.

“He was well-mannered and everybody loved him and we miss him. We can’t bring him back, so we have to just try cope,” said Carlos of Charles, who was 25 years old and had no children.

Degra ‘Didi’ Michael, Charles’ cousin, said that the deceased was the family member who kept the family together.

“He would update all of us on what each other was doing. When our grandmother died, Giovanni was there every day; he is a family person, grew up in church, respectful, cool, cool guy; you couldn’t find a cooler person,” said Michael, who revealed that she was the one who encouraged Charles to join the constabulary.

She said that she told him that the Police Force needed people like him and she thought that it was a good idea for him to become a lawman.

“I helped him to do the application and encouraged him to join as a career path. He take everything with a smile. he didn’t deserve to die the way he died. Life is so unfair sometimes,” commented Michael, who revealed that she has no regrets encouraging her cousin to become a policeman, as he was a good officer.

Another of Charles’ cousins, Camille Fagan, told SEARCHLIGHT that she may have had a premonition of Charles’ death, as she dreamt something strange a few days ago.

“I had a dream but I took it for nothing because in that dream I see somebody come from behind and stabbing and I say God show me who is this, but I couldn’t see a face in the dream. It was very hard to visualize who it was,” said Fagan.

“When I heard he had died, I didn’t believe at first; then I was in a state of shock. It feel so shocking; it’s so tragic,” stressed Fagan, who said that she looked up to Charles as a role model and he was her favourite cousin.

She said that when she heard he was in the Rapid Response Unit (RRU), she had told him to be cautious.

“He didn’t deserve that. It is so shocking and tragic,” lamented Fagan, whose cousin has gone down in history as the 11th person to be murdered in St Vin­cent and the Grenadines this year.

Police have detained 18-year-old former Interme­diate High School student Maverick Joseph in relation to Charles’ murder.