Daughter of man killed by police: The State took away my daddy

The 11-year-old daughter of Jonathan Wharwood, the 39-year-old-mason who was killed by police in Sea Lots, says the State denied him the chance to see his children succeed.

She was speaking at Wharwood’s funeral on August 8 on the basketball court in Sea Lots.

Wharwood was killed around 1.30am on July 23 by police investigating an incident in which an officer was shot while on patrol the previous day. He had three children.

Police, in a statement hours after Wharwood’s death, said he attacked officers carrying out a search at his home, but this is disputed by neighbours.

Following his death, the family waited ten days for his autopsy results as they said the first autopsy had to be stopped as the officer who witnessed it was unable to answer the pathologist’s questions.

They said they then had to wait until the police could assign a senior officers to witness the second autopsy.

Residents gathered before the planned 11 am start for his funeral as they came out in their numbers to show solidarity with his family.

His daughter’s words brought tears to the eyes of many as she described him as an introvert who barely spoke but took pride in his craft and his children.

“My father's hands were blessed as he was a very skilled mason which he inherited from my grandfather. He took pride in his masonry craft and also loved going out to sea to catch fish. He was a very brave man, he was indeed physically strong.

"I wanted to one day go out to sea with him, but that was taken away from me by the State of TT.”

She accused the State of robbing her and her brother of the opportunity to make Wharwood proud.

“I am scheduled to sit SEA next year and would have loved to share the good news with my father, but the State of TT took that away from me.

"My big brother is scheduled to sit CXC next year and would have loved to share the good news with our father, but the state of TT took that away from us.

"My father is supposed to be here on this earth to see his three children' succeed in life, but the state of TT took that away from us.”

She said his death had left a gap in their lives.

“In society, we push the importance of having a father figure in children's life, yet it was taken away from us.”

She added her father was not involved in a life of crime as she addressed what Sea Lots residents said had become a stigma associated with their community.

“My father was sound in mind and was not mentally unstable. He was not affiliated with any gang and was a very hard-working young man.

"But because he was a resident of Sea Lots, his life seems to not matter. His children seem to not matter, and his relatives and family seem to not matter.”

Wharwood's daughter thanked God for the time she was able to spend with him adding, “You will not be forgotten as your memories stand in concrete.”

Speaking with Newsday after the funeral, the mother of Wharwood’s two younger children said she was feeling a mix of emotions.

“I don’t think I can put into words and describe how I am feeling. Having two children with him, this is a new journey I have to embark on. I have to raise two children without a father and it is really unfair.”

Residents still upset

She said Sea Lots residents were still upset over Wharwood’s death.

“The community is very, very angry and hurt about the situation because the person that lost his life is not even in any gang life or anything like that. So we are hurt and I honestly don’t know how to feel.”

MP for the area, Keith Scotland visited residents in the days after the shooting but did not attend the funeral on Thursday.

Speaking to Newsday on July 27, Scotland, who is also a minister in the Ministry of National Security, said he assured his constituents he would be there to support them after the killing.

He said the main purpose of his visit was to assure the residents their MP was there for them and to encourage the residents to allow the investigation time to take place.

He said none of the residents mentioned the idea of protesting over the police killing.

Asked if he felt any conflict of interest being a minister in the Ministry of National Security with responsibility for the police and the MP for a constituency in which there was a police killing, he said commiserating with his constituents was part of his job.

“That is the nature of the lay of the land and that is what I must do in circumstances where I remain MP for Port of Spain South, which includes Sea Lots. It was never an option not to be there for them.

Conflicting claims

The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) visited the scene of his killing the next day and has already begun its investigation.

Wharwood’s family filed a complaint with the PCA after neighbours said the police’s account of his death was inaccurate.

Wharwood was shot around 1 am on July 23, after police raided a compound with several apartments on Production Drive, Sea Lots, as part of an investigation into the earlier shooting of police officer Shakala Charles on St Paul Street, East Dry River, Port of Spain.

Charles, an officer assigned to the Guard and Emergency Branch, was on patrol in East Port of Spain around 8.30 pm on July 22 when he responded to a shooting at St Paul Street. He was shot by gunmen while in the front seat of a patrol vehicle. Another man, Keron George, of East Dry River, was also wounded in the attack and both men were taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital where they are being treated.

Police said they received information that a suspect involved in the shooting was at a house on Production Drive.

Wharwood was shot during the raid after police claimed he chopped an officer on his helmet.

In an earlier interview, neighbours gave a different account of the shooting incident.

They claimed police stormed the compound and questioned several people, including Wharwood. They said police officers took Wharwood back to his room and minutes later they head four gunshots.

"They were asking him, "about the St Paul Street shooting) but he don't know because he would have been asleep at the time. He cooked for everybody on the block and went to take a rest.

"While they asking him...That wasn't enough and they bring him out of the room, carry him back in and then...

"The policeman turned and said, 'Man down, man down.' After he said that, the rest of the police run inside and said, 'Oh God, boy, is the wrong man boy. Oh s--t, bring the jeep,'" a neighbour said.