Baker shooting probe stalls as police wait on family to fill in info

POLICE are waiting for the family of Tommy Maeva Baker to fill up the paperwork for the investigations into the shooting of Tommy.
Milne Bay commander Supt Peter Barkie told The National that for any investigation to start into a police shooting, the family of the deceased must go to the station and fill up the paperwork for a coroner to proceed. “Once the paperwork has been filled, the coroner will commence its investigation, the findings of the coroner will be presented to police investigators to make an arrest or to close the case,” he added.
“In the coroner’s inquest, all statements will be provided to the coroner to go through and determine the cause of death through an autopsy.” According to a Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary circular 1998, any police shooting is subjected to a coroner’s inquest.
However, Tommy’s parents, Baker and Edna Maeva told The National that they would be writing to the police hierarchy to release their son’s body without a post mortem and to give him a proper burial.
“What happened has happened and we want no more done to his body,” Baker said.
“We want to take him home to Cape Vogel.
“He told us that if anything happened to him, he was to be buried on his mother’s land.”
Police Commissioner David Manning said: “I also respect the desire of his (Tommy’s) parents to take possession of their son’s remains to lay him to rest in accordance with their faith and cultural traditions.
“This will happen when the full process of the probe is completed and the remains are no longer required as part of the investigation.”