Two police officers were wounded during a party hosted by a popular bar at Maracas Beach on the Republic Day holiday.
The officers reportedly attempted to arrest two people but were beaten by the rowdy crowd.
The lawmen were part of a detail performing an extra-duty exercise at the bar’s event, which began around 6 pm. It was expected to end at 2 am yesterday.
A report said several fights broke out among the patrons around 10.30 pm on Sunday.
The report said as one of the officers, identified as PC Quintero, proceeded up a flight of stairs on the eastern side of the bar to quell one of the fights, he saw a group of men fighting.
Quintero reportedly tried to stop the fracas but one of the men involved in the fight struck him with an object on the head, causing him to bleed.
Other officers rushed to Quintero’s aid and subdued the man who struck Quintero. As they placed the suspect in a marked police vehicle, however, it prompted the unruly crowd to start pelting the officers with glass bottles.
Ten people reportedly surrounded the lawmen.
Police said a woman, of Cemetery Street, La Fillette, Blanchisseuse, walked up to another officer, identified as PC Julien, and made threats.
During the confrontation, the woman reportedly threw a drink at Julien, while her husband placed Julien in a head-lock, threw him to the ground and began kicking him in the head.
As other officers went to Julien’s assistance and formed a barrier line between him and the angry mob, the suspect who was first held jumped out of the police vehicle, still hand-cuffed, and ran towards the beach.
He was not found up to yesterday, while the woman and her husband also escaped.
Both Quintero and Julien were taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital for medical treatment.
Julien was treated for soft tissue injuries to the right side of his forehead and discharged.
Another police officer, who injured his foot while searching for the suspect with the handcuffs, was also treated at hospital.
