Three senior prison officers have been suspended from all duties from the Port-of-Spain State Prison, Frederick Street, in relation to the July 24 jailbreak.
The T&T Guardian was reliably informed that two officers–an acting ASP with 33 years service and a PO II with over 20 years service–were served with their suspension letters on Monday evening in the presence of the Commissioner of Prisons Sterling Stewart and Deputy of Commissioner of Prisons William Alexander.
The third guard was served yesterday.
The trio will have to await word from the Public Service Commission to find out if they will be entitled to a full salary, salary cut or no salary during their suspension leave.
The suspension letters allegedly stated the officers were suspended because of failure to act promptly on information surrounding the planned prison break.
However, according to a prisons source, prison officers who allegedly received the information to the actual time of the escape taking place, all happened within five minutes.
"We, the prison officers, believe the suspension of some of the officers are being brought down because of alleged political pressure. It is a sad day in T&T that we have had to reach this state," said a prison officer who wished not to be identified.
"The level of aggression, discrimination and victimisation is overbearing," the officer added.
On July 24, 2015 at about 12.30 pm Hassan Atwell, Christopher "Monster" Selby and Allan "Scanny" Martin pointed guns at prison officers on duty. Martin got the keys to the front gate which he opened for them to run out onto Frederick Street.
PC Sherman Maynard was shot as the escapees targeted the vehicle in which he was sitting. He subsequently died while undergoing emergency surgery at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital. Martin was shot dead by police on the hospital's compound.
Atwell and Selby escaped but Atwell was gunned down on July 25 at East Dry River, Port-of-Spain. On July 26, Selby surrendered at the Barataria Police Station.
Selby appeared before a Port-of-Spain magistrate on Monday on ten charges, including escaping lawful custody, Maynard's murder, committing common assault on prison officers Kerron Prime, Jean Marc Hernandez and Nicholas Singh and two for shooting at prison officer Leon George and Maynard's colleague Tisean Francis with intent to cause them grievous bodily harm.
The common assault charges allegedly arose when Selby and his accomplices used two guns to threaten the prison officers to make good their escape.
Selby was also charged for possessing an illegal gun, robbing a man of a Nissan Navara, which was reportedly initially used as a getaway vehicle before it crashed near the Port-of-Spain General Hospital and for robbing the prison of two keys, valued at $140, during the escape.