Man hospitalised after climbing Parliament fence

Up to press time on Thursday afternoon, fifty-eight-year old Stanford Charles was still a patient at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.{{more}}

Charles, a resident of Queensbury, Vermont, was admitted to the hospital yesterday, after he sustained an injury to his right leg.

Charles sustained the injury while climbing the iron fence just left of the main entrance to the Parliament building (Court House) in Kingstown, during yesterday’s protest action organized by the New Democratic Party.

The incident occurred at around 10:45 a.m. as a large crowd of protestors flocked outside the gates of the Court House, some even sitting on the ground in front of regular uniformed policemen and Special Services Unit (SSU) officers positioned at the gates.

The man, dressed in black trousers and a white shirt with a loosed black tie around his neck, was seen climbing over the iron fence. At one point, the man had one leg draped over the top of the fence, apparently attempting to enter the Court yard.

A few moments later, the man began to descend from the fence, back on to the road, with the help of persons from the crowd who were holding onto him. It is not clear at which point the man sustained the injury, however when he descended from the fence, a large quantity of blood was seen gushing from his leg.

When Searchlight visited Charles at the Accident and Emergency Department of the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital shortly after he was transported there by ambulance, Charles indicated that he was standing outside at the left side of the main entrance to the parliament courtyard, when he saw a lawyer with whom he wanted to speak.

“I saw Kay Bacchus Browne over in the courtyard so I wanted to draw her attention to the two letters that I have written to the DPP (Director of Public Prosecution) so I climbed the rail to go over.”

“The policeman came… he was inside the courtyard… and told me to go over and was pushing me (back) over. So in a reactionary way I kicked out my leg at him.”

“So he gripped my leg and he pulled it down on the spike and the spike went through my leg.”

Charles said that just before this, he had already made efforts to remove himself from the fence and was actually being helped down by persons on the outside of the fence.

The spike, which was about six inches in length, pierced the back of Charles right leg, directly behind the knee.

He claimed that he was in so much pain that he passed out before being removed from the scene and arrived at the hospital in an unconscious state.

He claims that he had written to the Director of Public Prosecutions Collin Williams on a number of criminal matters more than four years ago and he is yet to receive a response.

When asked why he chose to climb the gates of Parliament, Charles indicated that he believes that it was his right to do so; and besides, he said, the main gates were closed.

“It’s my right. I had a right to go over there!”

Charles said that he will be seeking legal guidance on how to proceed against the police in the matter.

Up to press time Thursday afternoon, it is uncertain if charges will be laid against Charles. (OS/JJ)