Probe into Morvant triple police killing at end stage

The main investigator assigned to probe the police killing of three men in Second Caledonia, Morvant which occurred just over a year ago began tying up loose ends on Friday and questioned some of the officers who were on the scene that day.

Assistant Superintendent Wayne Abbott, of the Southwestern Division, who was only recently assigned the help of two other officers of the Special Intelligence Unit, met with at least eight officers at the Financial Investigations Bureau, Riverside Plaza, Port of Spain.

More officers are expected to be interviewed on Monday, police said.

Sunday Newsday understands that Abbott, who has been liaising with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, intends to seek further advice at the conclusion of the interviews before a determination is made on the evidence and possible criminal charges.

Abbott had been hand-picked by Deputy Commissioner of Police McDonald Jacob, who is in charge of intelligence and investigations, to probe the June 27, 2020 incident whether Joel Jacobs, Noel Diamond and Israel Moses Clinton were intercepted by a joint team of 18 officers assigned to the Inter-Agency Task Force and the Guard and Emergency Branch at Juman Drive.

Oddly, Abbott was allowed to proceed on leave after he was selected to probe the matter, and began his task about a month after the incident, Sunday Newsday was reliably informed.

Seven of the officers who fired their weapons that day were suspended from active duty following a recommendation by the Police Complaints Authority and 11 others were assigned to desk duty by Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith.

The shooting incident was captured on CCTV cameras from a nearby home and footage was leaked on social media hours after the incident.

The footage seemed to contradict the police account that one of the men pulled a weapon on the officers prompting them to return fir. It ignited a wave of protests for three days in several communities across the country, including the capital city. It also prompted the Prime Minister to appoint a committee headed by psychologist Anthony Watkins to get to the root of some of the problems associated with so-called hotspot communities and their relationship with the police.

The police shooting of Jacobs, who was celebrating his 38th birthday on the day he was killed, Diamond, his close friend, and Clinton, took place mere hours after a police officer was murdered in the same community.

PC Allen Moseley, who only the day before passed his fitness test to join the Guard and Emergency Branch, was shot dead while leaving the home of a woman near an area referred to by residents as four-storeys, an apartment complex, located a short distance away from where the three men were killed. No one has ever been arrested for Moseley's murder although significant resources were assigned by the CoP to find the killer/s.

Last month, Sunday Newsday revisited the community of Second Caledonia where the men were killed and residents said the tragedy had brought about love and togetherness never before seen in their village.

Three mural artists also intend to paint a memorial on the wall where the incident took place with the words Rest in Power as a reminder to all of the triple fatal police killing.