Senior Reporter
anna-lisa.paul@guardian.co.tt
An investigation has been launched into the death of an unidentified man, said to be a street dweller, on March 22, after he was reportedly shot in the head by a municipal police officer and dropped off at a hospital.
The man later died while receiving treatment.
Guardian Media learned the officer, who is assigned to the Port-of-Spain Municipal Police, was only arrested by officers from the Homicide Bureau on Thursday – which was 13 days after the alleged incident occurred.
According to the police, officers were alerted by medical officials at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital on April 4 of the unclaimed corpse, which had been delivered to the facility by the police constable.
Investigators said they were told by the municipal police constable that he had been driving a marked police vehicle on March 22 near the Riverside Plaza in east Port-of-Spain, when a man allegedly threw a stone, causing the windscreen to be shattered.
It was reported that the officer later shot the man in the head and then took him to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, where the victim succumbed to his injuries.
Police officials yesterday confirmed the investigation was a “very sensitive” one, which also needed to determine if the victim was indeed a street dweller as has been claimed.
Contacted yesterday, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in charge of the Municipal Police Service, Surrendra Sagramsingh, was unable to offer any further details except to say that the entire incident was “disturbing”.
A post-mortem is yet to be conducted on the unidentified man, while the officer remains in custody.