[UPDATED] PCA starts probe of police killing in Tabaquite

SIX men have now been killed by police in less than one week and officers continue to ramp up operations under the state of emergency.

The state of emergency was declared on December 30, last year in an attempt to suppress gang warfare which threatened public safety. Over 1,000 people have been arrested, 50 guns seized and 1,270 rounds of ammunition have been seized in the last 26 days.

The latest victim is Ronnie Alexander, 40, of Laventille who was killed in an alleged shootout with police in Tabaquite early on January 25.

Initial reports said officers of the Central Division's extortion unit were searching for Ronnie Alexander, 40, of Laventille in the Tabaquite area.

Newsday understands a shootout between the suspect and officers at a house along Motta Street shortly before 6 am.

Alexander was injured in the exchange and taken to the Chaguanas Health Facility where he was pronounced dead.

Senior police officers said Alexander was previously charged with kidnapping and robbery.

However, his sister, who did not wish to be named, told Newsday she did not believe the police's account of what transpired.

She admitted Alexander was mixed up with the law over 20 years ago from being in the wrong company.

She denied that her brother was involved in any criminal activity and was confused about why the police were looking for him.

"If my brother had done anything, he would have told me. I telling you that."

She said he left Laventille about three years ago to return to Tabaquite where he grew up owing to the ongoing gang violence. She said Alexander was living at a friend's Tabaquite home while he was focused on building a house for his parents. She said he earned a living through planting on some of the family's five acres of land.

According to police procedure, in the event of a fatal police-involved killing, both the police and the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) do separate investigations.

PCA director David West told Newsday investigations have begun into all of the six incidents.

"It is too early to say if there were any violations by police officers. All the investigations are in the early stages and we await the files from the investigators. In all of these cases, witnesses are still being interviewed."

West added: "We would expect that police officers would carry out their duties during the state of emergency in the same way they would operate without a SoE. Despite their increased powers during the SoE, we would still expect them to observe the rule of law and conduct their operations legally. That is why the PCA has been asking for video footage from the body-worn cameras anytime there has been a fatal police-involved shooting."

He said the PCA has never received footage of any incidents but was optimistic "this would change."

Senior Central Division officers were unable to say whether officers involved in the latest killing were wearing body-worn cameras.

In the first incident on January 21, three suspected robbers were killed in an alleged shootout with Central Division officers after a robbery at Da Hua supermarket on the corner of Welcome Road and Ragoonanan Road, Cunupia.

In an unrelated incident, Shakeem Nickie also known as Fabi, 22 was shot dead by police on January 22 at Eastern Quarry, Laventille. Police responding to a report of a man being chopped in Dan Kelly, Eastern Quarry, Laventille claimed they saw Nickie attacking the man. Nickie was shot once in the torso and declared dead at the Port of Spain General Hospital.

One day later, an unidentified man was killed in a shootout with police in Claxton Bay.

Police said Central Division Task Force officers were on patrol on January 23 when, around 9 pm, they received a tip-off about gunmen in a blue Hyundai H100 van along Dump Road.

Officers tried to intercept the van but claimed they were shot at. Officers returned fire, hitting the suspect. An AR-15 rifle was seized in that operation.

The victim was taken to the Couva Health Facility where he was pronounced dead.

This story was originally published with the title "Police kill suspected kidnapper in Tabaquite" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

A MAN described by police as a known kidnapping and robbery offender was killed in a shootout with officers in Tabaquite early on January 25.

Initial reports said officers of the Central Division's extortion unit were searching for Ronnie Alexander, 40, of Laventille, in the Tabaquite area.

Newsday understands there was a shootout between the suspect and officers at a house along Motta Street shortly before 6 am.

Alexander was injured in the exchange and taken to the Chaguanas Health Facility, where he was pronounced dead.

Alexander is the sixth person to be killed by police this month, during the state of emergency which was declared on December 30 last year.

In the first incident, on January 21, three suspected robbers were killed in an alleged shootout with Central Division officers after a robbery at Da Hua supermarket in Cunupia.

In an unrelated incident, police shot dead Shakeem Nickie, also known as Fabi, 22, on January 22 at Eastern Quarry, Laventille. Police responding to a report of a man being chopped in Dan Kelly, Eastern Quarry, claimed they saw Nickie attacking the man. Nickie was shot once in the torso and declared dead at the Port of Spain General Hospital.

A day later, an unidentified man was killed in a shootout with police in Claxton Bay.

Police said Central Division Task Force officers were on patrol on January 23 when, around 9 pm, they received a tip-off about gunmen in a blue Hyundai H100 van along Dump Road.

They tried to intercept the van but claimed they were shot at. They returned fire, hitting a suspect. An AR-15 rifle was seized in that operation.

The victim was taken to the Couva Health Facility, where he was pronounced dead.