Two copsheld for beating death of Canadian

ST GEORGE'S (CMC):

Two police officers have been charged with manslaughter arising out of the beating death of a 39-year-old Canadian citizen last week.

A Royal Grenada Police Service statement said Constable Kenton Hazzard and Rural Constable Wendell Sylvester, both of whom are attached to the St David's Police Station, where Oscar Bartholomew was alleged to have been beaten while in custody, have been charged with manslaughter.

The statement said Hazzard and Sylvester had been detained last Thursday for questioning in connection with Bartholomew's death.

"Meanwhile, three other police officers are in detention assisting police with their investigation," the statement said.

Legal and family sources said the three officers were detained after an eyewitness told investigators on Friday he saw five police officers beating Bartholomew on Boxing Day. The eyewitness was a detainee at the St David's Police Station.

Bartholomew, who was visiting family in Grenada with his wife, reportedly went into a coma and died at the General Hospital, 24 hours after he was arrested following an incident in which he apparently mistook a female police officer for an old friend.

A post mortem later revealed that he died from punctured organs, a fractured skull and bleeding from the head.

However, the family is seeking a second post-mortem which they say is needed to assist them pursue the matter in civil court.