CoP: Police-involved shootings the 'minority'

HOURS after another man was killed in a police-involved shooting, Commissioner of Police (CoP) Allister Guevarro sought to defend the increase in shootings involving the police this year.

Speaking at an open-floor Q&A session on September 26, to mark his first 100 days in office, Guevarro was asked about the increased number of incidents but he suggested any increase was the result of an increase in police engagement with the criminals.

The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) raised concerns in March that the number of police killings and police-involved shooting incidents had more than doubled compared to last year.

The number of police-involved killings has continued to rise steadily since, but to this, Guevarro warned criminals that they are better off not engaging in gunfights with police as there is a zero-tolerance approach to firearm offences.

“We are more public and we are more present and we are engaging the criminals. So with that in place and more police on the road… they find it more difficult to move around. And when they have to engage with my officers, that is when it becomes fatal.”

On September 25, an Arima man was killed in a shootout with police near SWAHA Hindu College on Cunapo Southern Main Road, Sangre Grande. Police were on mobile patrol at around 7.05 pm when they tried to stop a man who appeared suspicious.

Officers say the man shot at them and they returned fire, fatally wounded him. He was taken to Sangre Grande Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police found an AR-15 rifle and 11 rounds of ammunition at the scene.

On September 21, police shot and killed soldier Shyien Trancoso and another man identified as Enrique Garcia in Sangre Grande. They found a high-powered rifle near the bodies.

Responding to questions on the shootings, Guevarro noted that videos had surfaced online depicting at least one of the victims from Sunday’s incident with a high-powered rifle. He added police believe this is the same rifle recovered at the scene.

Meanwhile, he said the man killed by police on Thursday was main a suspect in three murders.

“For many days, officers were trying to do surveillance to catch him. Yesterday they had an unfortunate incident where when confronted them and he did not do as I would have advised the criminals to do and surrender to the police. He wanted to engage us.”

Guevarro said he “stands 100 per cent” behind his officers and suggested it was not illogical to believe criminals will shoot at police rather than risk being captured.

“They're running in bars and shooting indiscriminately. So what do you think they would do when the encounter the police who have guns and are trained?

“They ent going and play dolly house or marble pitch. They will engage the police, and when they do we will respond.”

Guevarro noted only a “minority” of incidents ended with a police-involved shooting.

“We have recovered 150 firearms and only less than 15 of those recovery of firearms resulted in some sort of negative interaction that had shooting with or at the police involved.

“So the majority of them, 85 per cent of those people are alive and in jail or facing the court.”