DPP visits scene of police triple killing in Morvant

ON THE SCENE: DPP Roger Gaspard (left) speaks with Supt Wayne Abbott (centre) and another investigator at Second Caledonia, Morvant where three men were shot dead by police on June 27, 2020. Photo by Angelo Marcelle
ON THE SCENE: DPP Roger Gaspard (left) speaks with Supt Wayne Abbott (centre) and another investigator at Second Caledonia, Morvant where three men were shot dead by police on June 27, 2020. Photo by Angelo Marcelle

In an uncommon move, this country's lead prosecutor on Monday visited the scene of the police fatal shooting of three men in Second Caledonia, Morvant to witness first-hand evidence gathered by investigators in the year-long probe.

A team of investigators, led by Supt Wayne Abbott, arrived at Juman Drive shortly before 3 pm and, using chalk and measurements, marked off the spots where four police vehicles had stopped, as well as the spot where a gold-coloured Nissan Tiida with the three men had pulled over near the Auto Guru building on June 27, 2020.

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, SC, arrived an hour later and was briefed by Abbott and other officers . One of them, using his hands, showed how the police pointed their weapons at the three men and motioned as though he was using a pump-action shotgun.

DPP Roger Gaspard, centre, during a visit on Monday to the scene where police shot and killed three men in Second Caledonia, Movrant on June 27, 2020. On right is lead investigator Supt Wayne Abbott. Photo by Angelo Marcelle

The officer also raised both arms in the air to demonstrate how one of the men surrendered before he was shot repeatedly by officers assigned to the Inter-Agency Task Force.

One of the reasons for the visit, Newsday was told, was to examine the angles to help understand whether the officers who opened fire were under threat and were justified in shooting.

Seven of the 18 officers who were on the scene fired shots that day, killing the three men instantly. Other officers, assigned to the Guard and Emergency Branch, were seen removing what appeared to be spent shells from the road after the men were killed.

The officers who fired their weapons were sent on administrative leave by Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith last July and the other 11 officers were assigned to desk duty. Some of them are co-operating with investigators.

The entire incident was captured on CCTV cameras from the house opposite and was shared on social media hours after. It ignited a wave of protests for three days in several parts of the country and prompted the Prime Minister to appoint a committee to look into the causes of neglect in vulnerable communities like Morvant.

On July 29, Abbott and his investigators re-enacted the incident in Morvant and blocked off traffic access for nearly six hours. Monday's exercise ended by 4.30 pm.

The development comes as Abbott and his team are tying up loose ends in the investigation into the deaths of Joel Jacobs, Noel Diamond and Israel Moses Clinton.

Jacobs was celebrating his 38th birthday on the day he was killed, and had only seconds before his death left his home, a stone's throw from where he was shot, to go and buy a bottle of rum. He was the only person to get out of the car, from the left back door, and the video showed him with both hands in the air and speaking to the officers when he was shot.

DPP Roger Gaspard, centre, during a visit on Monday to the scene where police shot and killed three men in Second Caledonia, Morvant on June 27, 2020. At right is lead investigator Supt Wayne Abbot. Photo by Angelo Marcelle

Clinton was seen with his hands in the air over the steering wheel when he was shot, and Diamond, who was in the back seat, was shot as he lowered the right back window.

Police claimed Jacobs reached for a weapon in the back seat, prompting them to open fire in self-defence.

The case has also shed new light on another police shooting which happened in 2009, on the same street where three men were killed by police.

The link was made after police initially claimed one of the men shot dead in 2020 was Codi Alves. It turned out Alves was the sole survivor of the 2009 incident, after he pretended to be dead and alerted doctors at the Port of Spain mortuary.

Alves is a crucial witness against the police in the inquest into the deaths of his friends Kerwin "Lall" Joseph, Akee Caballero and Joel Romain.

The Police Complaints Authority is taking an active role in overseeing the inquest, which is yet to begin before Port of Spain coroner Kerri-Ann Byer.

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"DPP visits scene of police triple killing in Morvant"

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