Cop blamed after man dies in chair

Head of the Portland police, Superintendent Dwayne Wellington, has come to the defence of one of his officers who responded to calls that a man died while sitting in a chair in the parish capital last Friday.

According to Wellington, the elderly man was given a chair to sit in after he complained of feeling ill.

"The police was not aware of the situation until over an hour after he died. It was alleged that he died while sitting in the chair and people thought he was resting," he said.

However, in a video that has been making rounds online, onlookers are heard saying that the man was dead while others claimed his hands were moving and he needed to be taken to the hospital.

Social media users have chastise the cop, saying that he didn't made an effort to take the man to the hospital. However, Wellington said this was not the case.

INFORMED THE PATROL

"When the police came there was no sign of life. As a matter of fact, nobody called the police. A member of the force was going home and observed what was going on and informed the patrol. The policeman who is seen in the clip was trying to get in touch with the base and the funeral home. So, out of good, he is getting bad, and I can't accept that," Wellington said.

The lawman stated that the death of the elderly man was unfortunate, but blasted the persons who uploaded the video to the social media sites.

"It's unfortunate that he died in a public space and the video is circulating. Whoever offered him the chair could have taken him to the hospital. This was a 70 odd years old man. They need to respect life even after death and should not have video the man and put him on social media," he said.