Senior Reporter
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
The T&T Police Service is offering condolences and promising to look into the circumstances that led to the resignation of junior officer Russell Bedasse, days after his mother, Shelawaithie “Meera” Bedasse, was found dead in mysterious circumstances.
However, Bedasse is not accepting the words of comfort from his former senior officer, DCP Junior Benjamin, and insists he will not return to the TTPS.
“I am not accepting those condolences and if it has to take them five days due to pressure, then it is not genuine,” Bedasse said when contacted.
He said the TTPS should not have to offer support now when all he needed was assistance to find his mother after she went missing last week. He said he stands by his decision to leave the service, saying he had spent 11 years trying to fix a broken system with proper ethics, morals and values.
Bedesse initially announced his decision in a 1:03-second video circulating on social media some time on Saturday, saying he had quit the service over the manner in which his colleagues had handled the case. However, his video seemed to have been prompted by how quickly officers went to his house to retrieve his uniform.
“They could not come when my mother was missing. They got instructions to come for my uniform. And those instructions would have come from Port-of-Spain, from the top highest level of supervision, I want to believe, or the most senior person in the division who has not even reached out to me to see my well-being or how I am doing, but they can send people for uniform. I could not care about that uniform. I’ve already given up my badge,” Bedasse said.
He added, “This is the point I have been trying to make. I made a decision yesterday, and I handed over my badge and ID. I told them in the station, ‘book me in as a police and book me out, leaving as a civilian. I do not want any part of this entity again.’”
Bedasse explained that he had quietly handed over his identification the evening before, choosing to leave the service on his own terms. His decision, he said, was final.
“Yesterday evening, I was not upset at the actions. Lo and behold, this morning, the police reached here to retrieve the uniform. They could not come or go and look for my mother.”
Yesterday, Bedasse said while he understands there is a procedure to follow for the retrieval of a uniform, he questioned whether there was an understanding of his situation.
“The officer is grieving. I am thinking from a human perspective. Couldn’t they have waited until the funeral? They came for uniforms three hours after I sent the badge in and the next morning they came back for uniform again, but I could not get one single police vehicle to go in search of my mother,” he said.
He added that it was mandatory for officers to respond to the report. Meanwhile, he said the family is still awaiting an autopsy after the Forensic Science Centre allegedly told him it does not deal with that type of death. He said the family is now waiting an autopsy before they can schedule a funeral.
In a previous interview, Bedasse recalled that the last time he spoke with Shelawaithie was around 8 am last Tuesday, when she provided a phone number he needed. Later that day, when calls to her went unanswered, he reported her missing to Cedros police.
Despite his report, he said his colleagues in the South Western Division Task Force failed to act immediately. Determined to find her, Bedasse conducted his own investigation, gathering CCTV footage, retracing her last steps, and identifying the last person seen with her.
At around 6 am the next day, Shelawaithie’s body was found hanging from a tree.
While the police initially ruled the death a suicide, Bedasse insisted the scene was staged to resemble suicide. He pointed to troubling details: the unusual height of the tree, the type of knot used, and his mother’s physical limitations.
Police seized an unopened bottle of poison labelled “Herbinate” and broken tablet packets at the scene.
Bedasse criticised authorities for treating the death as a suspected suicide and for the delayed response after she was reported missing.
Addressing the issue yesterday, Deputy Commissioner of Police Junior Benjamin confirmed he was aware of the resignation. He noted that Bedasse spoke about the immediacy with which his colleagues took steps to retrieve the uniform, and that no senior officer contacted him about his well-being.
“There is a rule that once a person hands in their resignation that you go and get their uniform and my understanding is that was followed as well by the Senior Superintendent of the division and therefore, it is part of parcel of what we do to ensure that there is no level of corruption that would take place in terms of kit being lost and that kind of thing,” Benjamin said.
Benjamin said his information was that support was extended to Bedasse, but said he would follow up to ensure it was done by the Victim and Witness Support Unit and Social Welfare Department. If this has not been done, Benjamin said he would put the necessary measures in place, adding that it is important to support officers.
He extended condolences to Bedasse on behalf of the TTPS, acknowledging the difficulty of the time for his family.
“I know this is a time of grief. Therefore, I really want to extend the level of condolence to that officer. You can see and hear the level of pain, and I really think that at times, you really need to know that there is an organisation that cares,” Benjamin said.
Benjamin said he was unable to speak about the investigation into the officer’s mother’s death, but assured that as soon as the TTPS has more information, relevant officials will provide updates. Regarding the TTPS missing persons policy, Benjamin said the DCP Operations Suzette Martin would be best suited to speak on that.
