TRINIDAD-Authority wants police officers to wear body cameras while on patrol

CMC – The Director of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), David West, Friday called for law enforcement officials to wear body cameras as police-involved shootings have increased significantly since the start of the year.

Data released by the PCA show that between January 1 to March 19, there have been 15 police-involved shooting incidents leaving 21 people dead, compared to six incidents and nine dead between January 1 and March 24 last year.

West said that the PCA has not been able to acquire any footage of the police killings so far this year.

“There is a departmental order that mandates police officers to wear body cameras and to turn them on when they go out on patrol and this is not being done and they are not being held accountable by their senior officers when they return.”

Speaking on a radio programme, West said that he is calling for Acting Commissioner of Police Junior Benjamin “to have a word with his executive to make sure that the police use their body camera effectively and efficiently.”

He said the executive of the police Service can help deal with the situation.

Meanwhile, the police are yet to release the identity of two people, including a woman, who were shot and killed during the early hours of Friday morning.

They said that the two were at an apartment on the ground floor of a building at Bamboo Number 3 Boulevard and were pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

They gave no further details.

Benjamin has warned that his officers have adopted a “zero tolerance” and would maintain this approach even after the state of emergency (SOE) ends at the end of the month.

“I am supporting my men in keeping up the fight, especially after the SOE. We are not going to relent, we are not going to stop. We are going to be more robust in ensuring a safer TT so that citizens can feel safer in this land,” he told the Newsday newspaper.

Meanwhile, one of the men shot dead by police earlier this week has been identified as Jerry Morris, a 22-year-old footballer.

Police said they were in pursuit of a vehicle along the east-west corridor on Wednesday night and that shots were fired resulting in the vehicle crashing.

Two men were seen running away from the vehicle and two others were discovered nursing gunshot wounds.

The men were taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, where Morris and another man were pronounced dead.

Police later searched the area near the accident and found a 56-year-old man with gunshot wounds.

He was arrested and taken to hospital.

Trinidad and Tobago is under a state of emergency which expires on March 30.

It could only be extended by Parliament, which has since been dissolved in preparation for the April 28 general election.

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