Princes Town shooting: Cops must give answers

RELATIVES of a man who was shot dead by police after a confrontation in Princes Town are calling for answers as to why he was killed instead of being subdued and arrested.

Last Friday, Cuban labourer Carlos Manuel Olive Cruz, 53, was shot dead by police after he attacked an officer with a chain. Speaking with Newsday at the Forensic Science Centre, St James on Monday, Cruz’s son Luis Enrique said that contrary to earlier reports, his father was not homeless and questioned why police shot him instead of subduing him.

“My father was not a man of problems, he was always a hard-working man, I demand justice. How is it possible that a policeman who is trained and has the ability to carry a weapon can shoot a 53-year-old man who was already unarmed?”

Asked what prompted his father to attack the police officer, Enrique said he understood that his father was attacked by men who then called the police. He said his father was approached from behind by one of the officers but did not know it was a policeman until he turned around.

Enrique said his father, mother and aunt have been living in TT for a year and six months. He said his father worked as a construction worker, painter and electrician.

“He was no vagabond, he had an apartment to live in with his family who supported him financially but the covid19 situation became hard for the Hispanics and he could not get a job,” Enrique said. He said his father had four sons in Cuba and were distraught after hearing about his death.

ANOTHER

MAN KILLED

In an unrelated incident, police shot and killed a man inside his home while searching for guns on Monday. Dead is Damien Scoon of Jamadhar Street.

At about 4.21 am, police from the Southern Division Task Force and Special Intelligence Unit reportedly went to an apartment at Jamadhar Street in San Fernando. When they identified themselves and went in, Scoon was at the door allegedly holding a gun.

It was later reported that when police ordered him to put down the gun, Scoon refused and was shot. He was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.