Mother of murdered pregnant teen: Police scared of criminals

THE mother of murdered teenager Samantha Celine Chadee on Monday accused police of being afraid of criminals, after she claimed officers refused to escort her to the scene of her pregnant daughter's murder.

Speaking to Newsday at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, Christina Chadee said, "They said, 'We don't go up there, is only tactical (units) does go up there.'"

Chadee, 19, was shot dead along with Walter John, 36, as they sat in John's car at Marcano Quarry, Laventille, on July 19.

On Monday, her mother concluded that the police feared the criminals in this country.

Contacted for a response, head of the Port of Spain division Acting Snr Supt Raymond Thom clarified that the term 'tactical' could refer to the Port of Spain Task Force, the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) or the Guard and Emergency Branch (GEB).

However, he said police had not been restricted from going into any particular area in TT.

"I am unaware of that and who said that.

"The police are there to patrol and protect the entire division. I am unaware of any area in the division that the police would not go."

Thom said if the police could not go to Marcano Quarry, "What about the civilians?

"The police can go anywhere, whether it's a hotspot or not."

He said if there were members of the police service who were fearful of criminals, they might be in the wrong profession.

"Police have a job to do. When you join the work, you know what the job entails.

"It may be difficult and trying, but still you have to be committed to doing the job."

Contacted for comment, president of the Police Social and Welfare Association (PSWA) Acting Inspector Gideon Dickson agreed.

"All police officers are fully cognisant that they are required to patrol the entire length and breadth of TT."

Dickson said Marcano Quarry was not as troubled as other parts of Laventille and police patrolled both areas.

Thom said while police were not obligated to take the relatives to the scene of a crime, they should try to assist if they could.

On July 19, Chadee and John were ambushed and shot several times with high-powered rifles as the pair were leaving John's brother's home around 6.15 pm at Marcano Quarry, Laventille.

Chadee was in the front passenger seat of John's grey Hyundai Accent. John tried to escape, but crashed into a drain a short distance away.

Chadee lived with her grandmother Marceline Badal in Portugal Avenue in Arima.

On Monday, Chadee's mother pleaded with young women to be careful of the friends they kept and the people they interacted with, because they might not know what those people might be involved in.

When Newsday asked Christina to describe her daughter, she showed a video of Chadee picking plums and laughing heartily.

The caption on the video said, "This is what they took from me...her laughter was unique so was her personality...Samantha... I'm sorry I didn't hug you as much as I should have baby."

Christina said her daughter was four months pregnant when she died.

"She was going to make me a grandmother in December, and I was looking forward to that."

Chadee said the state of crime in TT was "ridiculous."

"To be honest, crime starts from the top. We do not manufacture guns in TT, so to reach here it have to come somehow."

She also called on better from the authorities to protect the borders.

Chadee's mother said she felt like migrating and trying elsewhere, as the state of crime had not only come to her doorstep, but "blown up my door."

"How I fixing back my door? I can't fix back my door!

"I just want someone wake me up from this dream."

She said her daughter, a UWI student, had been set to finish her degree in agriculture in 2025.

"My family and I grew up really poor. While I trying to see about things, she was also trying to see about things.

"When she was finished with the agriculture course, you get some land and money – we were just trying to set up our lives."

Chadee had two younger siblings, a brother and a sister.