Protests erupt in Port of Spain over police killings of three Beetham residents
Residents of east Port of Spain blocked and set fire to the Beetham Highway on Monday, demanding justice for three men killed by police on Saturday.
East Port of Spain in flames after police shoot three men dead
Residents of Beetham Gardens, Sea Lots, Nelson Street and Duncan Street blocked all lanes of the Beetham Highway with old mattresses, tyres and discarded appliances on Monday morning, setting the debris alight in protest over what they described as the unjustified killing of three men by police the previous Saturday. Eight people were arrested by the end of the day, newsday.co.tt reports.
The three killed were identified as Beetham residents Fabien Richards, 21, Leonardo Niko Williams, 17, and Isaiah Roberts, 17. A fourth person, 16-year-old Malakai Glenn, was wounded and remained in critical condition at the Port of Spain General Hospital. Two others were arrested at the scene.
Police said they had received information that a car carrying six armed men was heading east along Wrightson Road and moved to intercept the vehicle. Officers said the occupants opened fire first and that they returned fire, striking four of the men. The car subsequently crashed into Republic Bank on Independence Square.
Protests flare up repeatedly across the area
The demonstrations began at Beetham Gardens, forcing drivers on the eastbound lanes to turn back rather than continue along the highway. Residents also set fire to rubbish and tyres along the Priority Bus Route near the Gardens. Police initially quelled the protests in each location, but they reignited and continued for several hours across multiple sites.
At the Solid Waste Management Company Ltd (SWMCOL) transfer site, a mountain of discarded tyres was set ablaze. Fire officers worked to bring the blaze under control, but at 2 pm it was still burning. Threats and glass bottles were hurled at officers throughout the morning.
From 10 am, police responded to flare-ups across the area for approximately four hours. Traffic heading into the capital was diverted from the highway at the Maritime roundabout onto the Priority Bus Route and the Eastern Main Road. Traffic leaving the city was forced to use the same alternative routes, as police sealed off the stretch from the lighthouse in Sea Lots to the Maritime roundabout.
"The price of progress is high"
Production Drive, Sea Lots resident Elijah Mitchell said the disruption to the wider public was an unavoidable consequence. "The price of progress is high," he said. "The general public will have to pay the price like how the people here paying the price, because the people here paying the price with we children and them."
Mitchell, a shopkeeper who was cheered on by fellow residents, said burning tyres and blocking roads remained the only method of protest that compelled those in authority to engage with the community. He called on the National Security Minister to visit Sea Lots and speak directly with residents, arguing that had the deceased been sons of prominent citizens, even the Prime Minister would have spoken out.
"Look the police and them kill men who we, people in the village, know they don't be on certain activities," Mitchell said. He added that had the men been known for criminal activity, residents would not have reacted as they did.
Residents reject PCA process
At Monday's protest, Sea Lots residents said referrals to the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) had not produced the results they were seeking. The PCA said it had completed its investigations into the deaths and submitted its findings to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Superintendent Ali Mohamed of the Guard and Emergency Branch spoke with residents on Production Drive and managed to calm the situation somewhat. "I told them we are not here to instil fear or harm anyone. We are just here to ensure that law and order are maintained," Mohamed said. "They told me what their grievances were and I guided them in a particular avenue, that there are various lawful ways in which to go about this rather than breaking the law."
Echoes of 2020 Morvant protest
Monday's unrest recalled a similar wave of protests two years earlier, also triggered by the police-involved killing of three men in east Port of Spain. On June 27, 2020, Joel "Lion" Jacob, 38, Noel Diamond, 46, and Israel Moses Clinton, 27, were killed in a reported shootout with police near Jacob's home in Second Caledonia, Morvant.
Their deaths sparked protests in Morvant and across Duncan, Nelson and Frederick Streets, Beetham Gardens and Sea Lots on June 29 of that year. During those protests, Ornella Greaves, who was three months pregnant, was shot and killed. It remains unclear who fired the shot that killed her, with both police and residents blaming the other side.
Running toll of police-involved killings
There have been 19 police-involved killings in Trinidad and Tobago so far in 2022. For the same period in 2021, the figure stood at 21, and in 2020 it was 39. The full-year total for 2021 was 31, compared with 65 the year before.
Source: Google News TT — Port of Spain