Frederick Street prison break questions still unanswered 6 years later

In 2015 Port of Spain was the scene of a dramatic prison break which ended in the deaths of a 26-year-old police constable, Sherman Maynard, and two escapees.

Saturday marked six years since the incident, but there are still several unanswered questions surrounding who planned it, who gave prisoners the tools, and where the police investigation has reached.

On July 24, 2015, at around midday, prisoners Hassan Atwell, Allan “Scanny” Martin and Christopher “Monster” Selby shot their way out of the Port of Spain prison on Frederick Street. During their escape, a prison officer was wounded and Maynard was killed.

Martin was shot dead when confronted by police in a guard booth at the Port of Spain General Hospital soon after. Atwell was found dead days later in East Port of Spain.

The surviving escapee, Selby, surrendered to police and was later charged with Maynard’s murder and escaping lawful custody. The case is still pending.

Dennis Pulchan, now prison commissioner, told Newsday on Sunday that he was appointed lead prison investigator into the escape, and  submitted his report to the Prison Service Commission on October 2, 2015.

Three prison officers were suspended and allegations of misconduct were investigated by a disciplinary committee. The allegations were dismissed and the officers reinstated more than three years later.

A National Security joint select committee of Parliament was told the contraband which the prisoners used may have been taken into the prison by a visitor on the same day or sometime before.

In a 2016 report, the committee said it was concerned that such contraband entered the prison undetected.

But Prison Officers Association president Cerron Richards told the committee in a subsequent meeting (November 13, 2019), that Pulchan was only appointed to investigate allegations arising out of another investigation into the jail break.

“On July 24, 2015 the then commissioner of prisons, Mr Sterling Stewart, was out of the country,” Richards said.

“On July 27, Mr Morgan who acted as commissioner during the time of the jail break handed over duties to Mr Stewart with a report of the incident. On July 28 Mr Thomas Espinosa Assistant Commissioner of Prisons was appointed by Stewart to do an inquiry into the prison break... No one to date can properly account, or account at all, to the whereabouts of that report.”

In a Newsday report in 2018, then prisons commissioner Gerard Wilson said only the preliminary report was missing, but the final report resulted in the suspension of the three officers.

Richards told Newsday on Sunday, there has been no police report either.

“If there was a report, it was never shared with the public. From 2015 to present we still don’t know who was responsible for the prison break.”

Newsday tried to reach Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith for comment but calls to his phone went unanswered.

Gone but not forgotten

Although it has been six years, the incident remains fresh in the minds of Maynard’s relatives.

“Since his death, every year on that day has been reflective and emotional,” Maynard’s brother, Sheldon Maynard told Newsday.

He said relatives would usually commemorate the death by having a service.

“He was a devout Roman Catholic,” Sheldon Maynard said.

“He was involved heavily in the church and in groups like The Society of St Vincent De Paul. But for the past two years we haven’t been able to do that, because of covid19.”

He said although restrictions have led to them not being able to hold the masses, they continue to commemorate his death with memorials in the daily paper and in the Catholic News.

Police Social and Welfare Association president ASP Gideon Dickson said Maynard’s name is preserved, along with 47 other officers who died in the line of duty, on a plaque at the front of the Police Administration Building.

Dickson said Maynard’s death proved that police officers are not impervious to crime.

“While we have a use-of-force policy, criminals do not. Our officers can also be shot and fatally wounded. Our officers could also be victims of crime.”

He said the Victim and Witness Support Unit, while serving citizens who were victims of crime, also serve police officers with support and counselling where necessary.

Dickson added that the police service was also developing an employee assistance program for officers, and their families, who are wounded or have lost their lives, but some issues led to it being shelved for the moment.

What has changed?

Since the jail break several changes have been made in the way both prisons and police officers operate.

Dickson told Newsday that prisons and police officers now have a greater collaboration.

Arising out of a joint select meeting, certain measures were implemented.

All special visits must be authorised by the deputy commissioner of prisons in charge of operations, and visitors would be thoroughly searched. Visitors are not allowed to have their faces covered, or wear hats or caps.

There has also been an increase in surgical and general searches, as well as of vehicles entering and exiting the prisons. More closed-circuit TV cameras were installed and existing cameras are regularly maintained.

Pulchan said the prison service is also rebranding from a place of punishment to a place for rehabilitation.

“We are retraining our staff to be more humane and realistic and exposing the prisoners to programs that would help with rehabilitation. We now want to deal with not only locking down the body, but freeing the mind.”