Police kill mentally ill man in Princes Town

A POLICE OFFICER shot and killed a mentally ill Princes Town man around midday on October 11, just one day after the world celebrated World Mental Health Day.

Police said Elijah Noel, 20, of Glenroy Housing Development jumped onto a female motorist's vehicle along the M1 Tasker Road, Princes Town broke her side view mirror and damaged her fender. The driver flagged down two municipal police officers who were on mobile patrol. Police said the officer repeatedly instructed Noel to stop but he kept advancing and threatening to kill her.

Police said the officer had her firearm drawn and Noel lunged at her, causing the gun to discharge. After the scuffle, police said, Noel continued moving toward the officer who, after several warnings and fearing for her life, fired twice at him. Noel was struck and taken to the Princes Town District Health Facility where he was pronounced dead.

Sitting at his home on October 12, Noel's father, Cleophas, 59, was troubled by his son's death. For one, he said Noel, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a child, would have episodes but never one where he became violent with others. He said on the rare occasion Noel displayed violent behaviours, it was toward himself.

"I know my son wasn't well. But he never hurt nobody. He had no record. He had no weapon. He didn't deserve that."

He said Noel was his only company after he and his wife separated six years ago. He said they were home washing when Noel began having an episode. He said Noel grabbed his head and ran out the road screaming. He said he took after him but before he could catch up with his son, he heard several loud explosions. By the time he arrived on the scene, he said Noel was lying on the ground bleeding.

"When I reach there and I said: 'My son, he sick, he sick. Don't hurt him.' I see him lying on the ground there motionless, just he stomach pulsing and he eyes pulsing. The woman (officer) said: 'Look what he do! Look what he do and pointing a mirror that he break off a vehicle.' I say: 'And you shoot him for that? You shoot him in his chest? I mean, he didn't have any other part of he body you could have shoot him on like he legs or try and arrest him or something like that?'

They didn't even try to arrest him. She just draw she gun and fire."

To add insult to injury, he said officers held Noel by his arms and legs, lifted him, swung him, and tossed him into the tray of a police pickup to take him for treatment- all within his view.

"That is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen. It is inhumane. I can't believe that police officers does treat people like that. Human beings.

"Like if they bounce some deer or something on the road and they taking it like roadkill and throwing it aside.

"The police and them, they very unprofessional. I'm totally disappointed. Something has to be done."

He said although Noel was unable to finish school because of his illness, he had improved significantly over the last few months and was hoping to join the NESC Technical Institute with hopes of becoming a mechanic. He said Noel was excited to be a part of the programme with the two of them speaking about it shortly before he was killed.

Living across the road from the family, Ainsworth David saw when Noel ran out the road during his episode. He too expressed his disgust with how the police handled the situation.

"I find we too backwards. They couldn't find a way of bringing him down? He didn't have a stick, he didn't have a gun, he didn't have a cutlass, he didn't have a knife, nothing. But they shoot him? If he had a weapon or something I'd have said well they shoot him to warn him to bring him down. But he had nothing."

He too vouched that Noel was not a violent person.

In a news release on October 12, the police service said the two WPCs were examined at hospital and were advised to seek psychiatric counselling at the San Fernando General Hospital.

In May, police shot and killed mentally ill Jeremy Rambarran in Barrackpore after he allegedly threw bricks at passing vehicles and charged at officers with a cutlass.

A few months before, TT Police Service Social and Welfare Association head Gideon Dickson said officers were not trained to deal with mentally ill people.

Although unable to comment directly on the circumstances that led to Noel's killing, head of the Municipal Police Service Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Surendra Sagramsingh said some municipal officers received training from the Ministry of Health on dealing with mentally ill people. He was unable to say if the officer who shot Noel was part of this training.

ACP Sagramsigh said the police service has launched an investigation into the incident to determine if the officer was justified in her use of force. He said according to protocol, if an officers is discovered to have shot someone unjustifiably, legal action can be brought against them.