Father of man killed by police: I want justice for my son

WHAT was supposed to be a day of celebration and festivities for Sterling Jacob quickly turned to grief as his son Joel Jacob was among three men shot dead by police near the family’s Juman Drive, Morvant, home on Saturday afternoon.

Jacob, Israel Clinton and a third man identified so far only as “Diamond” were shot dead by officers of the Inter-Agency Task Force and the Guard and Emergency Branch. Police claimed one of the men was armed with a gun and shot at them. However, Jacob disputed this account given by the police in an interview with Newsday on Sunday. He claimed his son was unarmed and did not deserve to be killed.

Jacob said his son was not known to be in any criminal activity and he is confused as to why his son would be sought by the police.

“I worked as a principal for many years at the Maraval RC School, I’ve helped a lot of young people keep on to the straight and narrow path and I even had good relations with the police." But this here, what happened to my son," Jacob said, "was just not right." He is calling for a thorough investigation.

Jacob said his son was getting a ride from Clinton to go and buy something when the shooting occurred. He said he heard the gunshots and when he went outside, the police told him to go back inside.

“When I eventually came back out the police said I would have to go to the hospital if I wanted more information, because everything happened fast for them.

"There was a woman who saw everything, she was telling my son and the other guys to stay calm and comply with the police.

“Everyone in the area here knows Joel as a limer. He had no connection with any underworld figures or anything like that. I once had the opinion of our constabulary to be hard-working, honest people but I don’t know what to think now, because of situations like these. They moved like judge, jury and executioner.”

According to police, a Beretta pistol and a quantity of ammunition were seized from inside Clinton’s car. Jacob said while there was a possibility the police may have been trying to arrest one of the other men, he is not satisfied with the way they approached the situation but is confident he would eventually get justice.

“We are going all out to get justice. They executed these guys, they had no guns or anything. I believe I will get justice because this incident was too blatant. It’s something that everybody saw.

“It is possible the police were coming for one of the other guys who were in the car at the time, but even if that was the case the police did not act properly. If I was in the car at the time I might have been killed as well.” Jacob said he is trying to find the strength to console his wife and daughter who both are equally pained by the killings.

Autopsies are expected to be done on Monday at the Forensic Science Centre.