'Family man' Alvin Daniel killed in Parlatuvier

A TOBAGO man was shot and killed near a guesthouse in Parlatuvier on September 11, raising the island’s record murder toll to 22 for 2024.

Police said around 5.11 am, Alvin Daniel, 55, aka Sargie, of Bamboo Hill, Parlatuvier, was sitting with a woman in a silver seven-seater Toyota vehicle on Northside Road when gunmen pulled up alongside and started shooting.

Daniel and the woman were found with gunshot wounds. They were taken to the Roxborough Hospital, where Daniel was pronounced dead at 5.53 am.

The woman was transferred to the Scarborough General Hospital.

Homicide detectives are investigating.

When Newsday visited the area, a car was parked near the caution tape that cordoned off the area where the couple was shot.

Daniel’s daughter, who was at the scene, did not want to speak about her father’s death, as her mother also died recently. Other relatives supported her as she grieved.

On the Parlatuvier beachfront, one of Daniel’s favourite recreational spots, villagers described him as family-oriented. They said he was also a very skilful straightener and painter.

One villager said Daniel, who worked in the Division of Food Security, Natural Resources, the Environment and Sustainable Development, was shot near Gloucester Place, where he worked as a part-time caretaker.

“He just does business there. Some Americans own the place and he was the caretaker, cleaning the yard and taking care of the premises,” one man said.

Lamenting Tobago’s worsening crime situation, the man predicted the bloodshed will continue.

“The crime situation won’t stop. It will get worse. No if, but or maybe.”

He suggested that a death squad should be introduced as a measure to drastically reduce murders.

“It is not legal, but that is the only time crime will change, because the horse done break the stable already. You cannot bring it back again.”

The man believes former police commissioner Gary Griffith would have had a handle on the country’s crime situation.

“He little mouthy, but that is his nature. I doh see anybody to curb, slow down or stop the set of killings.”

He said police must gather proper intelligence to improve the detection rate.

Commenting on this latest killing, Tobago Business Chamber chairman Martin George questioned the claim by senior police that they are in control of crime.

“We had, within the past few days, a very senior police officer telling the nation on more than one occasion that the police are in control of crime. With Tobago recording its 22nd murder, one wonders, what does that really mean?” he asked in a WhatsApp voicenote. “Is there some double entendre that this senior police officer was really telegraphing to the nation when she said the police are in control of crime?”

He said ordinary citizens do not feel safe and secure.

“One does not feel that the police are in control of the situation in terms of dealing with criminals. In fact, it appears to be the opposite. The criminals appear to be running rampant, creating murder, mayhem and madness and the police seem clueless, hapless and helpless.”

George said it appears some police officers are only good at taking advantage of ordinary citizens by “using a very heavy hand and oppressive actions,” while hardcore criminals laugh at them.

He said measures must be implemented post-haste to stem the flow of guns and illegal drugs into Tobago.

“You have the palpable absurdity of a scenario where you are scanning a walk-on passenger onto the ferry, yet someone can drive on with a vanload of guns and you just do a cursory examination.

"Guns are not manufactured in Tobago. So where are these things coming from?”

George said the police are failing in the job of making the nation safe and secure.

“Tobago is the smallest division in the TTPS. Are you telling me you cannot make Tobago safe? You cannot ensure that you get to the root of crime and criminality in Tobago and stamp it out. Are we going to say that Tobago is also lost?”

THA Minority Leader Kelvon Morris described the rise in murders as alarming. Saying criminals are becoming more brazen. Morris added, “It’s no surprise, given the example set by the leadership in the Tobago House of Assembly.

“When faced with criminal investigations, instead of taking responsibility, the Chief Secretary, the Secretary of Infrastructure and this administration’s default approach is to attack law enforcement. This behaviour creates an atmosphere of chaos and confusion.”

Morris reiterated people must unite to fight crime.

“We cannot do so selectively. The law must apply equally to everyone. We must empower law enforcement to address all forms of crime, whether blue-collar or white-collar. We cannot expect to curb crime in Tobago if those in power undermine the very institutions designed to uphold the law.”

Accusing the THA of failing to address the island’s crime situation, Progressive Democratic Patriots political leader Watson Duke called on Chief Secretary Farley Augustine to resign and announce the date for the next THA elections. They are constitutionally due in 2025.

“I am calling on you, chief secretary, to address the nation and have your resignation in your pocket to present to us. We would accept it. And we will go to the House and we will prorogue the House. We will bring the House to nought and we will have elections.

"Let the people of Tobago elect someone who can solve crime,” he said in a video shared on WhatsApp.

When compared with Trinidad, Duke claimed, Tobago now has a higher rate of murders per capita. He said crime is serious business.

“You need to be a leader to solve crime. You can’t be no little joker.

"You have failed to address crime. You have failed to bring together the various arms of security in Tobago to assist Tobago in solving crime.”

Saying crime is not sporadic, Duke argued it is a social issue that must be solved in communities.

He again suggested the establishment of a Tobago Homeland Security Department, which he feels would be a major part of the solution to the island’s crime situation.