Police: Forensic report will help determine who shot Beetham woman

Investigations into the shooting that claimed the life of 39-year-old Sharida Ali are still ongoing, and investigators are awaiting the results of ballistic testing to determine if the bullet that killed Ali was fired by an officer or by criminals.

A senior officer involved in the case said investigators are awaiting a forensic report. Ali, a mother of two, from Kelly Village, Caroni was enjoying an evening with friends in Beetham Gardens on January 19 when she was struck by a stray bullet in the head.

Reports say police began chasing bandits who had taken them on a pursuit along the Beetham Highway. Two officers from the Tunapuna CID responded to a report of two men who had stolen a silver Nissan Note at gunpoint in the Arouca district.

Officers from the Northern Division later received a report that the car had been seen near the Beetham Highway. The car was intercepted on the eastbound lane of the Beetham Highway, and police say the men got out of the car and ran north into Beetham Gardens.

Several gunshots were heard, and the men eventually escaped.

Police were later informed Ali had been struck by a bullet while inside a house. She was taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital, where she died around 6.15 pm while being treated.

The scene was later processed by PCs Samm and Philip, who found four spent 9mm shells and one spent 5.56 shell.

Ali's funeral will be held on January 27 at 9 am at the St Joseph RC Church.

In June 2020, Ornella Greaves, a mother of five children aged between one and 14, was shot dead during a protest on the Beetham Highway. At the time of her death, she was three months pregnant.

Greaves was among a crowd of Beetham residents near Ninth Street, parallel to the Beetham Highway, protesting the shooting deaths of three men in Morvant. Police claimed some residents opened fire on them, killing Greaves.

However, residents disputed this version of events and insisted Greaves and another man were shot when an officer opened fire on the crowd, which had been throwing debris into the road.

After a lengthy investigation, the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) recommended criminal charges in the investigation into the fatal police killing.

In a statement on July 1, 2022, the PCA said its findings and recommendations had been sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on June 30.

The statement added during its inquiry, the PCA's team reviewed available documentary and medical evidence: statements from victims and witnesses present during the protests: reports from police officers: evidence from CCTV footage and digital information, as well as the findings of an independent expert witness.

The PCA did not disclose what it had recommended to the DPP.

The police also conducted an investigation into Greaves' death. Then Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith said investigators reviewed all CCTV footage and determined not a single police patrol was within seven miles at the time of Greaves's shooting.

He disputed the protesters' account, claiming the police were not involved.

Instead, police said people were shooting wildly from the Beetham Gardens, and Greaves was shot in the ensuing melee.