Regrello: Police killing Sando Carnival

YVONNE WEBB

WHO gave instructions to prematurely stop the Carnival in the southern city, two hours before the merry monarch ended on Tuesday night? That’s the question San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello wants answered.

He said Snr Supt Zamsheed Mohammed, who assured there would be no interference in the festival unless there was a potential threat, said it wasn’t him.

However, Mohammed told the Newsday the police had to use their discretion and order a shutdown because of several fights on Cipero Street and information that the perpetrators were heading to Coffee Street to carry out similar acts.

Regrello said he was manhandled and assaulted by a junior police officer in plain clothes who also threatened to arrest him, when he stood his ground as the officer tried to stop CAL Skiffle from performing at a competition on Coffee Street, around 10 pm on Tuesday night.

He said this was disrespect to the national instrument and the art form and wondered why, with all of the violent incidents which took place in the capital city, no police officer dared to enter any steelband or stop the mas in Port of Spain.

“The steelbands don’t give trouble. We don’t have violence in steelbands. The disrespect we met last night as a steelband carry us back to 1940s when they used to slaughter steelband men and jail them for nothing.”

Regrello also called on the police to apologise to citizens, who were intimidated by officers in tactical gear.

“The police owe the city corporation and the people of San Fernando an apology for the atrocity. This going on for seven or eight years and it is time we put a stop to this.”

Regrello said the police action was unjustified and left the community livid, as there was no clear or present danger at the time of the incident.

He said police had been been prematurely shutting down the Carnival for the past seven or eight years in San Fernando and this was hampering the mas.

On J’Ouvert morning, one man was killed and another wounded in a shooting incident.

“What that is doing, those decisions taken by the police, is hampering Carnival bands in San Fernando. Bandleaders are now thinking twice about investing in San Fernando and masqueraders are rethinking their commitment to play. The mas is being affected and we have an issue with that,” Regrello said at a news conference at the San Fernando City Hall yesterday.

“Our position on this is that we are not sure, in terms of the authority of the police, as to where they stand in this action. As far as we know, the President proclaims Carnival, and Carnival starts at 4 am on J’Ouvert morning, and ends at midnight on Carnival Tuesday evening, unless something happens untoward that can create a risk to the lives of citizens.”

The corporation’s corporate secretary Amanda Ranghell said the police contravened their powers because there was no clear or imminent threat to the safety of citizens or the peaceful running of the Carnival celebrations.

Regrello said he understood long after that there was a stabbing incident on Cipero Street that night, but he was not consulted or informed about what was going on.

“Well, the police must do their work. If there are hot spots then curtail that area and supervise that area. You don’t have to shut down the entire city for that.”

Ranghell said because the police did not inform the mayor of their plan of action, he was placed in a very delicate and embarrassing position.

“The question remains why he was not notified immediately or sought prior clarification before that act was taken. More importantly, who would have given that directive?” the attorney asked.

Regrello said while he wants to maintain the goodwill he has with the police, and does not want to go the route of legal action, he will be weighing his legal options, as he was manhandled by one of the officers who assaulted him and threatened to arrest him.

“This is not only a disrespect to me, but the way they went about it. If I was not the Mayor of San Fernando I would have been arrested on Tuesday night.”

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