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Fareed Ahmad, Questions Abound About Death of 39 Year Old
posted (December 29, 2017)
Last night, we told you about the very questionable death of 39 year-old Fareed Ahmad, the well-known barber from Hattieville who was shot in the face, and then crashed into a vehicle on the side of the road. It happened about a mile away from his home, just after midnight on Thursday.

His family believes he was murdered. And while his death has not been established as a homicide, fingers are pointing at his passenger, Woman Police Constable Michelle Brown. She was inside his vehicle with her service weapon. No one has been able to say with certainty what she was doing inside the vehicle - leaving many more questions than answers tonight.

On one side, there is a grieving family that is demanding answers and accountability, and then, there are the police investigators who are trying to be fair.

So today, the police top brass called a press conference to address the Fareed Ahmad case, among other topics going into the New Year's weekend. Today, the Head of the Professional Standards Branch told the press what they've been able to establish so far. Assistant Police Commissioner Chester Williams said that they've managed to find 1 of the two guns that were missing:

ACP Chester Williams, Commander - Professional Standards Branch
"Both were transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where at the hospital, while being examined, the police received information from medical personnel that Mr. Ahmad had a gunshot wound, entry exit, on the face. That information was conveyed to the police and right away the police went to secure the scene of the accident as it was then treated as a shooting scene rather than a traffic accident scene. The investigation of the police into that matter continued and yesterday we conducted extensive search of the vehicle for the firearm, as we knew that Mr. Fareed does have a licensed firearm and from information we also obtained, the WPC was also armed with a police issued firearm. Neither firearms were found. An examination of the vehicle, however, revealed two bullet holes on the driver's side window of the vehicle. The vehicle was then transported to Belize City, Queen Street compound, for it to be more extensively searched for the firearms and the expended shells, if any. That search was done yesterday and nothing was found and this morning, with the assistance of the fire service, the jaws of life, we were able to cut the vehicle and we managed to recover one firearm inside the vehicle. That firearm is of Bersa brand and from our records it was the firearms that the WPC was carrying at the time. We also found inside the vehicle, two expended shells. The firearm and the expended shells will be sent to the [forensic] lab for examination to ascertain whether or not it was that firearm that discharged the two expended shells that were found inside the vehicle. WPC Brown is currently admitted at the KHMH in a stable condition and is detained and is being treated as a suspect in respect of this matter."

After those at the head table addressed the different topics of their choice, the floor was opened for questions from the press. Though we tried to ask about a few of the gaps in the story, the head table made it clear that there were certain topics they weren't prepared to entertain at this time:

ACP Chester Williams, Commander - Professional Standards Branch
"To answer your question, Mr. Ahmad's report was that he was constantly being harassed by members of the Special Assignment Team and particularly, he was reporting about a matter that took place on December 21st, where he alleges that he was stopped at the corner of Vernon Street and the highway by the SAT. He was handcuffed and brought to the police station to be searched. He believed that it was unnecessary for him to have been handcuffed just to be brought to the police station for a search."

Reporter
"In relation to Fareed Ahmad's license firearm, you are aware that he had one?"

ACP Chester Williams
"Yes we have not been able to locate that as yet."

Daniel Ortiz, reporter
"The family is specifically concerned about Mr. Fareed Ahmad's firearm. They strongly believe that that weapon was in the vehicle as well. Is there anything to suggest that their suspicions are accurate?"

ACP Chester Williams
"We are still searching the vehicle up to now. We still have the fire personnel going deeper into the vehicle to see if they will be able to locate anything else. We would also want to believe that it was there as well, but we have not been able to find it."

Reporter
"The shots in the vehicle, if those would have come from inside or from outside?"

ACP Chester Williams
"From an investigative standpoint and as a senior investigator, I believe the shots were fired from inside the vehicle."

Reporter
"What is the procedure in terms of an allegation that members of that same team arrived at the scene and that you yourself had to chase them away? That's an allegation from the family"

ACP Chester Williams
"When I arrived on the scene after six that morning, yes, members of SAT were there and I told them to leave, as I did not see the need for them to be there. After all, the matter being investigated concerned one of their colleagues and I think that their presence would have been more intimidating than anything else and so I asked them to leave and they left."

Reporter
"Would members of the SAT were present there, be investigated or questions that leads as to the purpose of them being there?"

ACP Chester Williams
"I have requested due to reports from them and I was just text inform that the duty reports have been submitted. It is important yes that we ascertain exactly what they were doing there and that is being looked into."

Reporter
"And those persons of the team who went there, they were on duty at the time or no?"

ACP Chester Williams
"Yes they were on duty."

Police sources tell us that Constable Michelle Brown has been released from the hospital, and she is now in police custody. Those sources also suggest that it may have been the injuries that Ahmad suffered in the crash that ultimately caused his death, not the gunshot injuries to the face.

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