“[…] 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 …
Read More »Daly Bread: The context of fiery protests—often misunderstood and misinterpreted
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 …
Read More »Daly Bread: Compromising due process of law is potential catalyst for wider social unrest
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 …
Read More »Noble: The Pimping of East Port of Spain; how T&T abused “Eastmoorings” for decades
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 …
Read More »Ex-Pro League star, Akeem Benjamin, shot dead after alleged ‘confrontation’ with police
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 …
Read More »Noble: Not waiting for night to come—why Dr Rowley dismounted the tiger
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 …
Read More »Waithe: Six months after ‘Solo’s death, CoP Griffith should not be in office
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 …
Read More »Daly Bread: A bouquet of humanity; the power of community spirit
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 …
Read More »Daly Bread: Falling into Daunte’s inferno: police violence in the US and T&T
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 …
Read More »Dear Editor: Shootout or assassination? Does the TTPS serve the public or itself?
‘[…] In this latest video, plainclothes police officers are seen dumping one body in the back of the marked police SUV, and then dragging the other body and unceremoniously dumping that body on top of the other. How in heavens name can any wounded suspect survive a journey to the …
Read More »Vaneisa: When does evil begin? The making and breaking of Joel Balcon
The revelation that Joel Balcon had been charged with 70 criminal counts remains a scandalous indictment of this country. But where in the system is the blame to fall? In the Express of 4 February, Anna Ramdass reported an interview with an unidentified attorney who said he had previously represented …
Read More »Daly Bread: Topic, topic, topic—THA ‘fix’, police killings and Covid-19 vaccines
When Trinidad and Tobago is boiling over with trouble and nonsense, as it is currently, my Freeport compere says to me ‘topic, topic, topic’. So where to focus this week’s column? Should I comment further on the Tobago House of Assembly (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to break the six-six electoral …
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