BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – SPEAKING on a public political platform on Friday (Apr. 11), Leader of the People's Action Movement (PAM) and Deputy Leader of Team Unity, Hon. Shawn Richards strongly refuted having involvement in the brawl that took place during the Charles E. Mills Secondary School’s Victory Motorcade.
At the Bank Street held meeting, Richards declared that he was not the one to have started the brawl or had he any bottles and/or stones in his vehicle as many stories have claimed.
The Unity Deputy Leader claimed that after attending two funeral services that afternoon, he joined the motorcade on Fort Street.
"I joined the motorcade right there on Fort Street. When I join the motorcade is only me alone would have been able to see in the vehicle. On the back seat of the vehicle sleeping [was] a four-year-old child. Nobody knew that because nobody could have seen that.
"When I almost got into Cayon, a young lady stop me. She said that she had a passenger with her but she has to turn back because she has to go home [and asked] if I could take the passenger with me. The passenger was a police officer. I said, 'No problem.'," Richards explained.
He said the police officer remained in his vehicle until he reached Sandy Point.
"We reach St. Paul’s [and] bottle and stones start to throw. I was not even in front [of the motorcade]. All I know is I saw people running left, right and center. So, like everybody else, I parked. I jumped out of my vehicle, stood and observed what was going on. It reminded me of back in 1993 when they had the opening of Parliament...," he said.
Richards said a Sergeant eventually came to him and offered police escort out of St. Paul’s, where the bottles and stones were still being thrown.
The PAM Leader said he, along with other drivers, drove their vehicles along the back roads of St. Paul’s under police escort. But "by the time we reach by the playfield in St. Paul’s, bottles and stones start to throw again".
He said the vehicles that were ahead of his stopped and he took the opportunity to leave, adding that since then he has heard many stories of what transpired that evening and that he was the one to have stirred "confusion in St. Paul’s".
"I don't know how come the police has not come to look for me. But I have said no police has to come look for me because a police officer was in my vehicle all throughout. And so the police can ask one within their own ranks whether or not Shawn caused any confusion in St. Paul’s," he added.
He told the crowd that it would have been irresponsible of him to have committed such an act, "knowing a child was in my vehicle and it would have been irresponsible of the police officer to allow me to do any such thing [while] being right there in my vehicle".
Richards made it clear that he was in no way, shape or form involved in the bottle and stone throwing incident and stated that the rumours claiming his involvement are false.
