Police use Taser, pepper spray to subdue suspects

POLICE used a Taser and pepper spray to subdue and detain two suspects who were acting violently and resisting arrest in two separate incidents on Saturday.

In a release on Sunday, the police said PC Mahabir and other officers from the Couva police station responded to a road traffic accident at about 3.45 pm, when they saw a vehicle which crashed into a gate.

When they went to the driver’s home, a suspect came out and began advancing towards the officers, acting violently and being abusive.

Other officers, including PC Marcus, assisted and were abuse to use a Taser to subdue the suspect who was taken to the Couva Health Facility and then transferred to the San Fernando General Hospital for further tests and treatment for the injuries caused by the accident.

In another incident, police were on Pelican Extension, Morvant, around 2.30 pm, also on Saturday, when they saw a group of men liming under a bamboo patch at the side of the road.

Some of the men were not wearing face masks. When they were asked why, police said one of the men became irate, refusing to give them his name so he could be ticketed for not wearing a mask.

As they tried to arrest him, he began to struggle with the officers who were forced to use pepper spray to subdue him. He was eventually arrested and charged with disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest and was also issued a fixed penalty notice for failing to wear a face mask.

Non–lethal weapons, like pepper spray and Tasers, were introduced by Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith to bridge the gap between firearms and batons, the release said. “

These incidents align with the TTPS’ updated Use of Force Policy which allows for non-lethal weapons to used when persons are being aggressive, threatening, resisting arrests, assaulting police or other persons,” it added.