Marabella man shot dead by police, family wants answers

The family of a 34-year-old man who was fatally shot by police in Marabella near a river on February 12 is demanding a full investigation into his death.

Father of two Akiel “Bebo” Williams was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital, where he was declared dead.

The shooting occurred near the housing development site where he worked as a watchman.

According to reports, Southern Division officers were chasing another man, who ran toward where Williams was near the river.

Shots were fired, and Williams was hit and taken to hospital. The other man was later detained and remained in custody.

Williams’s sister Nikita Williams-Nathaniel told Newsday she got the news around 1 pm.
From what she was told, he went to visit someone at a house close to the river.

“We want some answers. We want a full investigation. Why was he taken away in a boxer? Why are his clothes still there in the river? Are they hiding something?” Williams-Nathaniel said.

“I was at the (Marabella) station earlier today. The police promised to call, but I am still waiting. We have no information on the other person either.”

She later showed clothing in the river, which she said belonged to him, raising further questions about the incident.

She expressed concerns that police might try to “cook up a story.”

Nathaniel-Williams added: “It is as if it is a duck that they killed and carried it to cook and curry.”

Besides being a watchman, Williams was also a handyman, fixing cars, welding, and helping build houses and cupboards.

His two-year-old daughter is currently hospitalised, recovering from heart surgery two weeks ago, while his 11-month-old daughter remains in the care of relatives.

Williams-Nathaniel said while Williams had faced the courts many times, he changed his lifestyle and worked tirelessly to provide for his family. She said he had no ongoing matters.

“He tried. He did better than we expected. He worked very hard. He has come a long way,” she said. “He was always with his children, taking them for walks. The reason why he started to work so hard was to take care of his children and family.”

She said their mother had suffered a stroke and experiences memory loss.

“She is struggling to cope with the news. She is numb. She has not come to terms with this,” Williams-Nathaniel said.

Police said Williams had been charged with multiple offences, including chopping.
ACP Wayne Mystar did not divulge details but said a full investigation would be done into the killing.

He added that the Police Complaints Authority would also investigate.

Williams is the latest person to be killed by police this year.

There were three police-involved killings from January 21-23.

On January 21, three robbery suspects were killed in a police shootout in Cunupia.

The next day, a 22-year-old man was caught chopping another man at Eastern Quarry in Laventille. The police intervened and shot and killed him.

On January 23, Miguel Hernandez, 26, was killed in a shootout with police at Dump Road in Claxton Bay. They also recovered a gun.

Two days later, on January 25, Ronnie Alexander, 40 of Laventille, was killed in an alleged police shootout at his family’s home in Tabaquite.

Four days after Alexander’s death, on January 29, two brothers, Roshon Bahadur and Jonathan Bahadur, as well as Jonathan’s girlfriend, Rhianna Harewood, 18, were killed in an alleged shootout in the Chaguanas district. They were robbery suspects.

On February 10, a 27-year-old man was shot and wounded in a police confrontation in Port of Spain.

Reports are the suspect was caught chopping another man near Independence Square. When the police intervened, the armed man launched at them, and an officer opened fire. The suspect, from Duncan Street, Port of Spain, and the other man, 48, from Morvant, were taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital.