Data from the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) says the number of police involved shooting incidents, and the number of people dead as a result of these confrontations, have more than doubled this year compared to a similar period last year.
From 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, 2024.
In a statement to Newsday, Police Complaints Authority (PCA) Director David West described the increase as “disturbing.”
He said his concern stems mainly from “the fact that there has been no record of body worn camera (BWC) footage on any of the aforementioned incidents to date.”
West added while he believes police are within their right to return fire in self-defence if a person points a gun or shoots at them, bodycam footage is important in “determining the truth of a shooting.”
He accused police of ignoring a departmental order (DO) on the matter and called for it to be enforced.
“This DO is not being followed and there has been no accountability for a breach in the DO.
“I am calling on the acting Commissioner of Police (CoP) to ensure that all police officers adhere to the DO regarding the use of BWCs.
“The use of BWCs offers a level of transparency in policing.”
Police Welfare Head: Statistics can be misleading
Acting CoP Junior Benjamin and Police Welfare Association (TTPSSWA) President Gideon Dickson suggested the figures, if examined on their own, can be misleading.
“I think we need to have a holistic understanding in terms of what the police is doing to fight crime,” Benjamin said.
He said the police are doing approximately three times more exercises than usual every month.
“We have done 4,045 operations in less than three months. That is more than 1,000 operations a month. So it means that the police are outside here working.”
He suggested the increase in police involved shooting incidents could be the result of the “aggressive crime-fighting approach” adopted by the police.
“Police are confronting crime and obviously, when we confront crime with such aggression, you are going to find those who seek to oppose the police.”
Dickson said while the numbers are concerning, no one is also asking how many police officers have been shot at compared to last year.
He noted the state of emergency (SoE) has allowed police greater powers to search and possibly confront criminals, which may not have happened under normal circumstances.
“We must be mindful that 2024 was a landmark year in terms of murders in TT. It’s our highest numbers, and at the end of 2024, it triggered a state of emergency because of the level of crime, criminality and murders that were going unabated.”
He said police are facing a “proliferation of hyper weapons” as they try to apprehend criminals.
“No longer are the crime scenes prevalent with bottles and knives and cutlasses. It’s not even 9mm and .38 ammunition. It’s now 5.56 and 7.62 ammo with weapons of mass destruction.
“And the
