Police Commissioner Erla Christopher-Harewood has ordered a probe into the police-involved killing of a robbery suspect and the wounding of two others in Princes Town yesterday, after a video of the incident which surfaced online raised queries about whether excessive force may have been used by the officers.
In a release hours after the incident, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service Corporate Communications Unit said the Commissioner and the TTPS executive were aware of a video circulating on social media of the shooting.
“Commissioner Christopher-Harewood has ordered an immediate investigation into the matter and awaits the findings of the investigative team,” the release said.
The TTPS assured that further updates will be shared with the public as more information becomes available.
The video has raised questions about whether the police used excessive force in the incident. It shows one of the suspects, who appears to be unarmed, crawling on his belly as he tried to hide behind a wrecked vehicle in a grassy area as an officer was shooting.
Persons commenting online about the video said it shows that shots were being fired in the officer’s direction, but they missed the officer and struck a concrete pathway a few feet away from him. Others had no sympathy for the suspect who was killed in the incident.
The police had earlier received information that the suspects were going to rob a wholesale business in Cleghorn Village, Princes Town. As a result, officers from the Southern Division organised an operation to capture the suspects and took up positions at strategic locations along the Naparima Mayaro Road, which was leading to the intended targeted business.
Commenting on the operation, Southern Division Snr Supt Richard Smith said around 11.15 am, the police spotted the suspects’ vehicle. However, the suspects realised then that they were being followed and tried to turn around.
He said when the suspects realised it was a police vehicle, they opened fire and the police returned fire. The driver of the suspects’ vehicle then sped off in an attempt to escape the police but realised a police jeep was blocking their path.
In a desperate bid to escape, the driver rammed into the police vehicle, causing it to spin around. The suspects’ vehicle then crashed into a drain.
Smith said the suspects came out firing at the police, who returned fire. When the shooting stopped, one suspect was dead. The other two were taken for medical attention at the health facility and transferred to the San Fernando General Hospital.
Smith confirmed that one of the suspects is a Special Reserve Policeman (SRP) attached to the Western Division.
A police officer who was in the jeep that was rammed suffered minor injuries and was being treated at the hospital last evening.
The officers recovered duct tape, tie straps, ski masks, a pistol and a revolver in the suspects’ vehicle.
Speaking with reporters at the scene, Smith thanked members of the public who provided the police with the information. He said the guns recovered from the suspects carry a total of 21 bullets, which meant lives were saved yesterday.
Noting that law enforcement officers have issued several warnings to criminals to stay out of South Trinidad, he said there are certain persons intent on committing crimes.
Issuing another warning, he said, “We have a well-oiled network. We have an operation centre and officers who are always on alert looking out for these types of crimes and we have a good relationship with the members of the public that we could get the info. Please stay out of the Southern Division. We are guarding our division fiercely and we will continue to do so.”
The identity of the deceased bandit was not disclosed up to the press time.