Tag Archives: police killings

“[…] Trinidadians and Tobagonians are resilient people. But what citizens rarely tolerate for long is inconsistency. Once people begin believing that there are different rules for different classes of citizens, public trust begins to erode very quickly. “That erosion of trust is becoming one of the defining features of modern …

There is reason to be concerned about current trends towards the promotion of authoritarian rule in Trinidad and Tobago. The Commissioner of Police (the CoP) vehemently sought to dilute accountability for the fatal police-involved shooting of a citizen seen in a video emerging from a crashed vehicle after a chase, …

“[…] The fact that our Prime Minister would openly applaud extrajudicial killings as a solution to drug trafficking was troubling to say the least. By cheering on violence outside the rule of law, she plants a creeping poison in the heart of our democracy. “[…] President Donald Trump said the strike …

“[…] Police officers represent the state and are entrusted with the responsibility to protect and serve the community. When a citizen is killed by the police, it can be perceived as an abuse of power, eroding trust between the authorities and the public. “Protests can serve as a way for …

Before examining the context of our fiery protests, let us first turn to some events abroad that are relevant to the use and abuse of power. “For now, each party’s biggest strength is the weakness of the opponent.” Does this statement resonate? It is in fact a conclusion drawn last …

Public trust and confidence in the capacity of our country’s institutions and high offices to make full disclosure and to observe due process of law has again been shaken. Compromising due process is a potential catalyst for wider social unrest because of the way in which the authorities manipulate the …

Our national anthem urges us to have “boundless faith in our destiny”. It affirms that “here every creed and race find an equal place” and “may God bless our Nation”.  Do these lofty words meet reality? Do these words apply to the people of Laventille, or are they to be …

Former Pro League stand-out Akeem ‘Battery’ Benjamin was one of two men shot dead today during an alleged confrontation with police officers at the out-of-commission Flavourite Ice Cream compound at Boundary Road in San Juan. The second deceased man remains unidentified while a TTPS release said North Eastern Division Task …

As a child, I learned a saying, ‘Don’t wait until night comes to light a candle to see what you could see in the day’! By this, my mother meant, ‘Don’t wait for a problem to come upon you when it could have been prevented long beforehand’. As a purveyor …

The following letter to the editor was submitted to Wired868 by Kirk Waithe, the political leader of the Nationwide Organisation of We the People (NOW): It’s been six months since Andrew ‘Solo’ Morris was brutally beaten by officers of the Special Operations Response Team (SORT)—a unit within the Police Service …

A discerning reader, well experienced in the issue of diversity, responded with appreciation to last week’s column dealing with police profiling of a certain socio-economic class. The message asserted that we should say Akiel Chambers’ name when we say the names of Duante Wright and other fatally-profiled victims currently in …

Daunte (pronounced Dante) Wright, aged 20, is the latest black man to be killed by a white police officer in the United States. The matter that first drew the attention of the police to him was minor. A questionable explanation has been given for the shooting of Daunte. The police …