Wreaths laid, prayers said on anniversary of deadly Morvant shooting

ISRAEL Clinton, Joel Jacobs and Noel Diamond are three names Second Caledonia, Morvant will not soon forget.

Clinton, 27, Jacobs, 38, and Diamond, 46, were shot dead by police a year ago. Their killings drew widespread protests in Port of Spain.

On Sunday, members of the Morvant community honoured the three men by placing wreaths, candles and posters with their names in the area where they were killed.

The police have maintained the three opened fire on officers who returned fire in self-defence.

Initially, Jacobs's parents Carol and Sterling intended to host a prayer service on what would have been their son's birthday (June 27) but this was shelved because of the pandemic and public-gathering restrictions. However, members of the community decided they would still honour the memory of the three men.

For Carol Jacobs, the community’s support has been “amazing” and “unbelievable.”

“If the community could go that far, then I have to support them. They are supporting me with my only son and I appreciate what it is they are doing,” she said.

This is something the community hopes to make an annual event.

The three men were shot and killed by police on June 27, 2020 when the Nissan Tiida in which they were travelling was stopped along Juman Drive.

When Newsday visited the community on the anniversary of the incident, it was clear it was still very painful particularly for Carol and Sterling and Priscilla Brooks, mother of Noel Diamond.

Sterling wants to see greater training for police, particularly in the area of emotional intelligence. The retired principal also wants to see greater emphasis on emotional intelligence in schools.

“We have to start educating these people in this sort of affective way so they think before they operate,” he said.

Sterling said, “Our constabulary does not have that. They do not have that self-awareness, that regulation, that empathy toward people. They work without emotion and this is not good for any of us.”

Even after a year, Sterling said he has not yet come to terms with the death of his only son.

“My mother is still alive. The normal thing is for children to bury their parents. I had to bury my son and I buried my son under a circumstance where I knew he was never in any crime,” he said.

For him, some good has come out of what has been an ugly and unbearable situation, in that it has brought the Morvant community closer together.

His wife Carol said she wants to see change in the police system. She said she grew up being afraid of and respecting police and would often tell her children if they misbehaved, she would call the police for them. "But today, the youths no longer have that respect for the police."

For Morvant resident Kathy Ann Waldron the candles, the wreaths and flowers were the community’s ways of remembering the lives.

“Seeing as it is the covid, we can’t assemble in droves. So we decided to do it from since Thursday last and whoever wishes to pay respect can come out and light a light until today, Sunday," she said.