Lawyers to Griffith: Suspend cops involved in police killing

LAW FIRM CJ Williams and Co, in a letter sent to the Commissioner of Police, Gary Griffith, demanded the immediate suspension of the police officers involved in the shooting death of Israel Clinton and Noel Diamond, two of the three men who were killed by police in an alleged shootout on Saturday.

Williams also called for the Commissioner to take a personal hand in the investigation into the three killings, and an immediate review of the use-of-force policy used by police.

“The issue we pose is of great public concern. It was widely circulated in the daily newspaper and on social media that officers killed three in or around Second Caledonia, Morvant on the 27 June 2020.”

“Forgive my curt tone but our clients were killed on the “police exercise” we term to be an extra-legal arbitrary and/or summary execution,” Williams said in the letter.

He pointed out that they had in their possession a video which was circulated on social media which captured the incident, which they would rely on as evidence of their claims.

Williams listed the chain of events that led to the death of their clients, which were taken from a video circulating on social media.

In the video, police officers stop and surround a gold coloured Nissan Tiida hatchback, armed with high powered and rapid fire weapons. One occupant exits the vehicle with his hands in the air, while the other occupants had their hands out of the vehicle. Moments after, shots are fired and the three men are killed.

The bodies of the men are then put in the back of a police van.

As such, Williams demanded the suspension of the officers, a thorough investigation, the protection of all correspondence, notes and station diary extracts relating to the incident, an account of the number of spent shells in the incident, and reasons why police officers would seem to gather spent shells after the shooting incident, and if it is in keeping with the use of force policy.

“For the avoidance of doubt we are asking the government of TT, through the Ministry of National Security to conduct a thorough investigation separate and apart from the TTPS or any arm of the organisation,” Williams added in the letter.

Williams requested the Government’s investigation be independent, impartial, and transparent.