President of the Police Social and Welfare Association Sgt Anand Ramesar says citizens have nothing to fear as police pledge to embark on an all-out war on crime after the killing of Sgt Hayden Manwaring.
Manwaring, 43, the father of two, of Emerald Street, Roystonia, was killed while on duty on Tuesday during a confrontation with robbers at Padmore Street, San Fernando.
Ramesar, in a telephone interview, said police officers were deeply affected by Manwaring's murder.
But, he said, there will be no "trigger-happy police officers.""I do not think we have ever had a situation where citizens would have to be fearful of the actions of the Police Service," he said. "Notwithstanding this, there are sufficient safeguards in place to suppress the actions of any police officer whose actions may be described as trigger-happy."
In fact, Ramesar said, "It is noteworthy to say that there appears to be a perspective from the public that police officers are not sufficiently aggressive in treating with criminals, but police officers are now guided by the regulations, codes and conduct that regulate their behaviour."
He said Manwaring's death had strengthened the police resolve to win the fight against crime."Whilst one will think that the morale of the officers will be low, this particular instance has provoked officers into demonstrating camaraderie and a collective effort towards policing," Ramesar said.
"Many officers are audibly echoing their commitment to fighting crime through overt and positive efforts."He said at yesterday's central committee meeting of the association, members of units such as Multi-Operations Police, Inter-Agency Task Force and Guard and Emergency Branch said they were going to embark on training programmes which would be open to all officers.
Manwaring's death, he said, "has not only strengthened our resolve, but it has also brought us together and to complement each other in a focused way to fight crime." Ramesar also issued a public appeal for acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams to bestow Manwaring with an award posthumously for his outstanding service.
He said Manwaring would be the first officer to receive such an award and "he is deserving in every way."Ramesar also suggested that an award be created in Manwaring's name and given to police "who are not deterred by criminal elements or from demonstrating their dedication for carrying out the functions of an officer."
He said the association was calling on National Security Minister Jack Warner to commence "the wall of honour in the name of officer Manwaring.""I think it will be a very long time before we would encounter (another) police officer who is deserving of such recognition," Ramesar added.