PM wants to know truth about teen biker’s death

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says the truth about how exactly 18-year-old Cjae Weekes lost his life on Wednesday February 2 is important. 

Cjae died in hospital on Sunday, February 6 (sometime after 3:00 a.m.) after an accident on his motorcycle while being chased by police officers attached to the Questelles Police Station.  

The teenager, an avid motorcyclist, became paralyzed from the chest down as a result of a broken spine following this incident.

He also sustained a broken leg and other injuries and told his mother Natasha Weekes, that the injuries came as a result of the police running him over with a vehicle. 

Speaking on Star Radio on Monday, February 7, Gonsalves said Natasha is a family friend and he is there “to hold her hand” in her time of bereavement. 

“I want to say publicly how sorry I am at the death of the 18-year old…Cjae Weekes. 

“I spoke to Natasha, his mom…it is terrible, terrible, terrible…and I am trying to get an indication of what transpired and hopefully I will get a report from the Commissioner, but it’s so sad, so so sad…,” the Prime Minister said live on air.  

He said it is hard thing when a mother has to bury her son and, “Natasha is torn…” 

“I want to know what happened. I have gotten from Natasha what Cjae told her and I got a summary from the Commissioner of Police.
 
“I am not going to make a comment on either except to say, let’s get to the bottom of this. He died in very tragic circumstances but the truth is important. That is all I would like to say on that,” Gonsalves added.  
 
In an interview, Natasha told SEARCHLIGHT that Cjae, on the evening of February 1, had filled out an application form to join the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) but the following day later he was lying at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital with multiple paralysed after accusing the police of running him over in Vermont. 

Weekes explained that her son was in Questelles getting a tire he had purchased for his motorbike because he had bought the wrong one. 

“He say he see the police vehicle but he overtake a jeep…when he overtake the jeep, he see the police like try to stop but he think was the jeep so they still going but after they see the police start to come up on them, they still ah speed because he said, he didn’t walk with the permit.  

“He gave me the permit that same day because I was supposed to organise something so I had the permit in my bag and the friend say he didn’t walk with his permit either,” Weekes told SEARCHLIGHT. 

The permit is a learner’s permit that allowed Cjae to ride his motorcycle on the public road. He was with a friend who got away from the police during the same chase.   

The woman, who lives at Argyle also said her son told her that during the chase, a police officer in the vehicle pushed out his hand and hit him (Cjae) in the chest, and the bike lost control. 

Weekes said she was informed that police had taken her son to the hospital but when she got there, no officer was present. 

“…He ah say ‘mommy, them wilfully ahna, them wilfully’. Me even say, if a police come bring your child, they supposed to dey there with your child. They not supposed to just leave your child and gone. Nobody was there,” the mother said. 

The woman who disclosed that she is employed at the Prime Minister’s residence,told SEARCHLIGHT she was given a different version of the story from officers who said they did not run over her son. 

Commissioner of Police (COP), Colin John told SEARCHLIGHT this week that the matter was being investigated but noted that based on reports reaching him, the officers did not run over the youngster with the vehicle.