Laventille residents protest after Trinibad dancehall artiste killed by police

A fiery protest erupted at Mango Alley, Laventille on Sunday after 18-year-old dancehall artiste Jahiem “Chucky Blanco” Joseph was shot dead by police on Saturday night.

Police said Joseph pulled out a gun and pointed it at three Inter-Agency Task Force officers on mobile patrol who went there after they got reports that there were men with guns in the area. They say they saw a group of men in front a house. The men tried to escape by running through some tracks and were chased by the police. It was during the chase when Joseph allegedly pointed a gun at them, but refused to drop it when ordered to do so.

The police said Joseph fell while running and the gun fell out his hands, but he pulled out another and aimed it at an officer causing the others to open fire on him.

Joseph was shot multiple times and was taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital where he died.

But residents said Joseph, of Trou Macaque Road, was actually performing at a children’s party when he was shot.

They said the party was wrapping up at around 9 pm and those in attendance were about to go to their homes when police arrived to disperse the crowd.

“How the pandemic is, when you see police you move,” said one resident.

“Some people ran. They shot him because they felt he was a gunman. Then they picked him up and pelt him in a jeep and left.”

Residents were adamant that he was not a criminal but a writer and singer.

“He was a talented youth,” said another resident.

“He was always smiling and always respectable. If he was doing something wrong then we would have said so. These police are too trigger happy.”

Joseph, whose songs Beatbox and Nah Play have gained hundreds of thousands of followers, also sang a song dedicated to alleged gang leader Anthon “Boombie” Boney, who was shot dead on September 8 in Caroni. The song is titled Long Live B Man.

Residents said he wrote the song as soon as he heard of Boney’s death. It was posted on YouTube on September 12 and has more than 50,000 views and more than 2,000 likes.

In the song Joseph says:

“Some say you a criminal, some say a gang you a lead. But ‘nuff ah dem don’t know how much ghetto youths you a feed.”