PCA: Body cams a critical tool in police shootings

THERE has been an increasing trend of police-involved fatal shootings in TT.

Newsday examined the period from January 2015-August 2024, which showed 387 people were killed in 313 incidents.

Data provided by the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) shows fatal shootings surged from 11 incidents in 2015 to a peak of 53 in 2020, representing 17 per cent of all fatal shootings in the decade.

The number of victims also rose, with 70 reported in 2020, accounting for 18 per cent of all victims during this period.

Although there was a slight decrease in fatal shootings after 2020, likely owing to the covid19 pandemic, in 2023, there were 37 shootings which left 43 dead and data for 2024 up until August 23 shows 21 fatal shootings, with 37 victims.

Despite these numbers, a few cases have been forwarded for further investigation to the Commissioner of Police (CoP) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

The PCA's powers are limited to making recommendations after completing independent investigations and it is ultimately up to police to act on the recommendations, which usually institute disciplinary action or tie up loose ends and charge the offending officers with murder or other serious criminal offences.

Out of the 313 fatal shootings recorded, only 15 cases were forwarded to the CoP, another 15 to the DPP and two cases were forwarded to both.

Notably, in 2020, the year with the highest number of fatal shootings, only two cases were forwarded to the CoP and four to the DPP, with just one case reaching both.

In 2021, out of 30 fatal shootings, only four were forwarded to the CoP and just one to the DPP.

Police shootings returned to the national spotlight in December 2023 when an off-duty police officer shot and killed two people  and wounded three others at Courts Megastore on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway in Barataria.

The deceased, Simeon Lessey, 35, and his sister Sinaaya Lessey, 33, had gone to meet PC Sidney Roberts, who had promised them items at a reduced price.

In May 2024, hours after doubles vendor Anisha Hosein was freed by her kidnappers, investigating officers killed four men in a shootout in St Augustine. The deceased were identified as Christopher Noriega, also known as "John Doe," Tevon Maynard, also known as "Beaver," Akeem Punnette, also known as "Scheme," and Joshua "Bounty" Allen.

On August 11, police killed three alleged members of the Resistance gang in an early-morning shootout near the Caroni Cremation Site after they claimed they were shot at.

Amir "Pa" Bissoon, the driver, Jody "Gia" Barath, front seat passenger, both of Dookiesingh Steet Extension, St Augustine, and Joseph Ramjit of Kalpoo Street, Spring Village, who was in the back seat, were killed.

On August 14, six people – five men and one woman – were killed in Freeport after a shootout with police. Officers had responded to information about a robbery and went to a house in Razack Trace.

According to the police, when they arrived, they were fired at and in accordance with the police use-of-force policy, they returned fire, resulting in the deaths of the six.

Head of the PCA David West expressed concern to Newsday about the public's reaction to the six deaths in August. West said while the public might feel a sense of relief when police kill suspects of serious crimes, it is problematic if such incidents occur without adherence to the rule of law.

He called for an independent investigation and said the PCA is mandated to do independent investigations into every police-involved shooting, but does not arrest or charge individuals. Instead, its findings are forwarded to the DPP and the CoP for action.

West also raised concerns over the lack of operational body cameras among police officers during these incidents, citing the case of Jonathan Wharwood, who was shot dead by police on July 23.

Officers claimed Wharwood attacked them while they were searching his home in connection with the earlier shooting of a police officer.

West questioned why officers were not being reprimanded for failing to wear body cameras, despite departmental orders mandating their use.

In a statement in May, the PCA said its investigators would also wear body cameras when investigating

Deputy Commissioner of Police Junior Benjamin, in an interview with Newsday on August 15, said while body cameras are available for every division, there are not enough for every officer.

In 2021, former police commissioner Gary Griffith announced funds had been allocated to buy 1,500 body cameras. Griffith said members of the Special Operation Response Team and other frontline units would receive these cameras.

This decision followed a June 2020 triple police killing in Morvant. Griffith said he ordered 1,000 body cameras to add to the 180 that were in use. The push for more body cameras had been driven by demands from the PCA and other groups.

In October 2023, Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds said at a standing finance committee meeting in Parliament that the police service had 1,121 body cameras available, 192 awaiting clearance from customs, and another 3,120 cameras planned for purchase.

Asked by MP Rodney Charles about the number of police officers equipped with body cameras, Hinds said cameras were not individually assigned but were available for officers to use as needed.

In April 2023, Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher announced that police officers would be required to use body cams,

"Any breach of this policy will be met with the requisite disciplinary action."

She stressed the importance, value, and benefits of body cameras in enhancing transparency, leading to faster resolutions of investigations, and building public trust and confidence in the police.

By May 2023, Harewood-Christopher told the Joint Select Committee on National Security that approximately 1,200 body cameras had been distributed to officers. However, when asked about the consistency of body camera usage, she said she did not know.

Northern Division head Snr Supt Miguel Montrichard told a subsequent JSC hearing in March 2024 that body cam batteries lasted 1.5 hours, but police patrols took longer.