Member of Parliament for Moruga/Tableland Clifton de Couteau claimed he was snubbed by Commissioner of Police Dwayne Gibbs yesterday, when he visited families of three people who were killed by police in his constituency last week Friday.De Couteau said, as the bona fide representative of the Government, he was not officially informed of Gibbs' visit, nor was he invited to sit with him, when he met the families of Abigail Johnson, Alana Duncan and Kerron Eccles.That, he said, even though Gibbs was told he was outside.Gibbs, who arrived by helicopter in Moruga, did not speak to anyone except the bereaved families.Standing among residents who had gathered outside the school, De Couteau was asked what transpired in the meeting.He said: "I was not there. I did not have the courtesy of hearing him. He saw only the relatives.
He said: "One of the bereaved told me that he asked them to finish the protest but they are going to escalate it. We must do something to appease these people and allay their fears. I can't do anything."De Couteau said he had a close relationship with Johnson's grandmother and Eccles's brother, the latter who helped him to organise football competitions in the area.He said the relatives also asked for the police officers involved in the incident to be suspended until the investigation was over but he refused.