Grieving son pleads: Remove burning images of dad

Suspended police sergeant Gary Alexander who died from self-inflicted burns, is to be laid to rest today.

A funeral service will be held for Alexander at J.E Guide Funeral Home and Crematorium, Coffee Street, San Fernando. Following the service, his body will be cremated.One day before Alexander’s funeral, his grieving son Jacy has asked citizens to remove images of his father’s burning body, they would have posted on social media.

Alexander, 61, who served as a police sergeant with the Trinidad and Tobago Police service before joining the Special Reserved unit, lit himself on fire in the presence of his son Jacy, daughter Shanice and wife Deborah Figaro. The incident took place outside the family’s home at Jeobdhsingh Trace, Kerissa Valley, Avocat Village, Fyzabad, last Sunday morning.

Following a domestic quarrel, Alexander doused himself and his car with a flammable liquid. He reportedly sat in the car and struck a match.

Images of the burning car, in which he committed the act and of his body engulfed in flames have gone viral on social media. Alexander died on July 9, from the burns he sustained at the San Fernando General Hospital.

The suspended police officer had an estranged relationship with his wife and family. On March 18, he was charged and appeared in court on two counts of assault, malicious damage and throwing a flammable liquid. He was scheduled to reappear in court in August.