"Oh Gord! Doh Shoot Meh Nah!": The Tragedy of Extrajudicial Killings in Trinidad & Tobago

By Ishmael Samad

Since the ignominious days of Commissioner of Police Randolph Burroughs, extrajudicial killings have been a heinous component of policing in Trinidad &Tobago. Oh Gord! Doh Shoot Meh Nah! focuses on thirteen instances when the police assumed the role of judge, jury, and executioner.

Twenty two persons lost their life as a result: Glen Liverpool, Jordan Charles, Hayden Goddard, Lincoln Forde, Wendy Courtney, Jaime Kevin Taitt, Thaddeaus Wade, Njisane Omowale, Adisa Wellington, Aneisha Neptune, Tristan Cobbler, Kevon Blake, Barry Lewis, Kwame Bourne, Joel Romain, Akee Caballero, Kerwyn Joseph, Daaniyaal Coltes, Kamal Krishna Ramdial, Kerron Eccles, Allana Duncan, and Abigail Johnson.

Kerwyn Joseph was before the courts on a gang-related offence. Thaddeus Wade faced an armed-robbery charge while Daaniyaal Coltes was the prime suspect in one homicide. The others, with perhaps one or two exceptions, were all law-abiding citizens, innocent of any crime. Furthermore, they were all unarmed.

Oh Gord! Doh Shoot Meh Nah! comprises of letters, emails, newspaper reports, editorials, as well as the eulogy for Glen Liverpool and a memorable poem by Njisane Omowale.

An Appendix contains Amnesty International 2006 T&T Report: End Police Immunity for Unlawful Killings and Death in Custody; the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials; the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, and an essay entitled the Moral Law.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 16, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463449940

Ishmael Samad

ISHMAEL SAMAD TAPIAMAN PAR EXCELLENCE

Book preview

"OH GORD!

DOH SHOOT MEH NAH!"

The Tragedy Of Extrajudicial Killings In Trinidad & Tobago

Ishmael Samad

US%26UKLogoB%26Wnew.ai

AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2011 by ISHMAEL SAMAD. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 11/11/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4634-4993-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4634-4994-0 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011914186

Printed in the United States of America

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Cover Enrique Perez Phoenix Graphic Design 91/93 Duke Street, POS

End Police Immunity for Unlawful Killings and Deaths in Custody / Trinidad & Tobago

© Amnesty International

Photo Credit p. 64 © Newsday, Port of Spain

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PREFACE

LETTERS TO DWAYNE GIBBS

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

AUGUST 17 2007

THE WALLERFIELD KILLINGS

AUGUST 17 2007

THE ST JAMES KILLINGS

JULY 04 2009

THE TARODALE HEIGHTS KILLING

OCTOBER 01 2009

THE 2nd CALEDONIA KILLINGS

NOVEMBER 24 2009

THE NELSON STREET KILLING

JANUARY 03 2010

THE LAVENTILLE KILLING

JANUARY 20 2011

THE ENTERPRISE KILLING

MAY 29 2011

THE L’ANSE MITAN KILLING

JUNE 04 2011

THE BASTERHALL KILLING

JULY 22 2011

THE BARRACKPORE KILLINGS

AUGUST 01 1990

THE CHAMPS FLEURS KILLING

AUGUST 17 2000

THE ATLANTIC PLAZA KILLING

MAY 01 2000

THE FOUR ROADS KILLING

APPENDIX

CARIBBEAN CENTRE

FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

END POLICE IMMUNITY FOR

UNLAWFUL KILLINGS AND DEATHS

IN CUSTODY

UNITED NATIONS

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS

UNITED NATIONS

BASIC PRINCIPLES ON THE USE OF

FORCE AND FIREARMS BY LAW

ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS

UNITED NATIONS

BODY OF PRINCIPLES FOR THE PROTECTION OF ALL PERSONS UNDER ANY FORM OF DETENTION

OR IMPRISONMENT

THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF

HUMAN RIGHTS

THE MORAL LAW

THE GLUE THAT HOLDS A SOCIETY TOGETHER

ADDENDA

In memory of

Glen Liverpool, Njisane Omowale, Joel Romain, Jordan Charles, Kwame Bourne, Tristan Cobbler, Hayden Goddard, Adisa Wellington, Kevon Blake, Lincoln Forde, Jaime Kevin Taitt, Sherman Monsegue, Akee Caballero, Kerwyn Joseph, Barry Lewis, Leroy Albarado, Daaniyaal Coltes, Abdul Kareem, Thaddeaus Wade, Aneisha Neptune, Alana Duncan, Abigail Johnson, Wendy Courtney, Kerron Eccles, Kamal Krishna Ramdial, Simon Hazelwood, and all the other victims of police brutality

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

While only one name appears on the cover and title page, "Oh Gord! Doh Shoot Meh Nah" has many co-authors. They are the intrepid reporters of the Trinidad Guardian, the Trinidad Express, Newsday, the T&T Mirror, and the Sun (defunct).

The co-authors of Oh Gord! Doh Shoot Meh Nah! are Francis Joseph, Leah Sorias, Derek Achong, Camille Clarke, Kalifa Clyne, Radhica Sookraj, Geisha Kowlessar, Kevon Felmine / Darryl Heeralal, Denyse Renne, Gyasi Gonzales, Donstan Bonn, Rickie Ramdass, Richard Charan, Akile Simon, Jensen LaVende, Keino Swamber, Carolyn Kissoon, Innis Francis, Carla Bridglal, Trevor Watson / Nalinee Seelal, Rhondor Dowlat, Indarjit Seuraj, Akilah Phillip, Jada Loutoo, Anna-Lisa Paul, Althea Pascall-Nicholas, Laurel Williams, Cecily Asson, Stacy Moore, Andre Bagoo, Alexander Bruzual / Kanta Persad, Keith Shepherd /and Debbie Jacob.

They made the publication of "Oh Gord! Doh Shoot Meh Nah!" possible. I owe them all a debt of gratitude, especially Denyse Renne who covered the Coroner’s Inquest into the Wallerfield Massacre for the Express. Thanks also to the courteous staff at the National Archives.

I.S.

No one shall be subjected to torture, or to cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment or punishment.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 5

Law enforcement officials may use force only when strictly necessary. Firearms should not be used except when a suspected offender offers armed resistance, or otherwise jeopardizes the lives of others.

UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials

Article 3

Governments must ensure that arbitrary or abusive use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials is punished as a criminal offence.

UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials

Principle 7

PREFACE

If the nation’s law enforcers are permitted to become law breakers with impunity, then the moral order of our society is threatened and we are heading for a state of chaos.

Scotland Yard Report on the T&T Police Service

Quoted from an address by Desmond Allum SC

On Friday evening of June 10, I delivered a letter at the Police Administration Building on Sackville Street addressed to Commissioner of Police Dwayne Gibbs, enclosing several documents pertaining to the unlawful killing of civilians by officers of the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service.

In the letter, I informed the Commissioner of my intention to publish the documents in order to shame the cops who are a law unto themselves. There are other compelling reasons for the publication of Oh Gord! Doh Shoot Meh Nah!

I am resolved to salvage the good name of Glen Liverpool, Hayden Goddard, Jordan Charles, and Lincoln Forde, and thereby reveal the monstrous miscarriage of justice that occurred at the Coroner’s Inquest into their gruesome death that occurred on that fateful Friday evening of August 17, 2007.

The Wallerfield Massacre was an utterly hideous crime committed in broad daylight. The police officers who murdered these unarmed men were all exonerated on June 04, 2009, much to their infernal delight. In the words of Attorney Wayne Sturge: This is the worst case of injustice I have ever seen. To this day, Magistrate Gail Gonzales as well as Senior Counsel Israel Khan are unaware that their hands are indelibly stained with innocent blood.

Furthermore, I hope to arouse widespread public indignation and thereby bring to an end the scourge of extrajudicial killings in Trinidad & Tobago. The opposite of love is not hate. The opposite of love is indifference. And for far too long the population have been callously indifferent to the cruelty and inhumanity inflicted upon law-abiding citizens by those renegade police officers who are a disgrace to the vast majority of honourable men and women in the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service.

The death of one innocent person is one too many. And during the past decade, over two hundred and fifty citizens have lost their life under questionable circumstances at the hands of police officers who are literally getting away with murder. As explicitly enunciated in my letter of June 6 to the Commissioner: It is a colossal tragedy, an indelible stain on the nation’s conscience.

Trinidad & Tobago is my space. I was born here. I live here. I am human. And the death of every innocent person diminishes me. Furthermore, I have been brainwashed by the Judaeo-Christian Faith into believing I am my brother’s keeper. I therefore affirm with all the moral power I can summon that there must be an end to extrajudicial executions perpetrated by officers of the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service. There must be an end to police brutality in T&T, brazenly and blatantly exemplified once again in the killings that occurred on Friday night of July 22nd.

The Barrackpore Massacre, horribly similar to the Wallerfield Massacre in its execution, claimed the lives of three innocent, unarmed citizens, Kerron Fingers Eccles, 26, Abigail Johnson, 20, and Alana Duncan, 28. As fate would have it, Kerron was devoid of a trigger finger, having lost his right index finger in a mill in his childhood. Hence the nickname. Furthermore, eyewitnesses testify that both Kerron and Alana were alive when they departed the scene of the shoot-out in the police vehicle.

Given these utterly horrific acts of police brutality, it would therefore be quite in order for the motto of the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service, To Protect and Serve, be changed to: To Murder and Maim. In addition, the sacrosanct Star of David must be replaced with the appropriate emblem for cruelty and inhumanity.

For too long the rogue elements in the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service have desecrated this sacred Jewish symbol. For too long they have demonstrated their contempt for the sanctity of human life. For too they have trampled on the dignity and worth of the individual person.

For too long they have inflicted enormous pain and grief on mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, nephews and nieces, grandfathers and grandmothers, friends and colleagues, of the victims of their murderous campaign. For too long the latter-day clones of Randolph Burroughs have tarnished the Star of David with the innocent blood of their victims, who never cease to cry out for justice from the grave.

Therefore it is only fitting and proper that the blood-stained Swastika, that obscene symbol of Nazi barbarity and criminality, be the new emblem of the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service. I am quite certain Israel Khan as well as Gail Gonzales will give their unequivocal stamp of approval.

Ishmael Samad

July 27, 2011

Boissiere, Maraval

See page 231 (13) for details of the Scotland Yard Report.

LETTERS TO DWAYNE GIBBS

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

I trust you possess the moral courage to insist that henceforth, there will be zero tolerance of extrajudicial killings in Trinidad and Tobago.

LETTER TO DWAYNE GIBBS

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

June 10 2011 / Subject : Extrajudicial Killings

At the Police Service Commission press conference of June 07, both you and the Chairman, Prof. Ramesh Deosaran, nonchalantly expressed concern as regards the killing of citizens by police officers. Only on Sunday last, Kamal Krishna Ramdial, a father of three, lost his life under questionable circumstances at his home in Basterhall, Couva.

My letter of June 06 focussed on the killing of Danniyaal Coltes in L’Anse Mitan, Carenage on May 29. In order to eliminate the least misunderstanding pertaining to his death, I am resending this letter with the addition of one line. I am also submitting a number of documents. I trust you will find the time to read them. They deal with the death of Jaime Kevin Taitt, Njisane Omowale, Glen Liverpool, Jordan Charles, and Thaddeaus Wade.

Copies of the documents will also be forwarded to Prof. Deosaran, Martin George, Addison Khan, Jacqueline Cheesman, and Kenneth Parker, as well as Deputy Commissioners Stephen Williams, Jack Ewatski, and Mervyn Richardson. The Minister of National Security and his Permanent Secretary will also receive copies.

I take this opportunity to inform you that all of this material and more will eventually be published. The title of the book is "KILL EVERY F . . . . BODY!" subtitled ONE MAN’S VAIN EFFORTS TO MAKE T&T A KINDER, GENTLER PLACE. The title is the utterance of a police officer when Jaime Kevin Taitt was pleading for his life (p. 163). It demonstrates the utter contempt for human life endemic in the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service. My iron resolve is to shame the cops who are a law unto themselves and who are literally getting away with cold-blooded murder.

Ishmael Samad

LETTER TO DWAYNE GIBBS

COMMISSIONER OF POLICE

June 06 2011 / Subject : Extrajudicial Killings

The proud motto of the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service is To Protect and Serve. But there are officers who are determined to make a mockery of this noble pledge. In the performance of their duty to protect and serve, they are quite prepared to be Judge, Jury, and Executioner. To put it bluntly, they are prepared to kill.

There is every reason to believe that such a cruel fate befell Daaniyaal Coltes on the morning of May 29. At around 8.00 a.m. that fateful Monday morning, a public holiday, the 21 year-old fisherman, his brother Sayifall Noreiga, and friends were at the corner of Smith Hill and the Western Main Road, Carenage, adjacent to the Coltes family residence.

Two police officers on patrol said they saw Coltes brandishing a firearm and they immediately stopped to investigate. He fled through the yard of his home and made his escape along the paved banks of the L’Anse Mitan River that passes alongside the house. One of the police officers, no doubt quite familiar with the neighbourhood, ran up Smith Hill that overlooks the river.

Coltes, wearing a white T-shirt, partially hid himself in bushes on the slope of the hill, unaware that the police officer had caught a glimpse of him from the rear of a dwelling atop Smith Hill. He was shot in the head at close range. The officer said he returned fire when fired upon. The police identified Coltes as the suspect in several homicides in Carenage and Diego Martin.

Sayifall Noreiga, who also ran up the hill, gave an interview to Newsday. When I was running I heard four gunshots, and when I looked down the hill I saw one of the police standing over my brother. The police went to where he was hiding and shot him in the head at point blank range. Another resident, who wished not to be identified, claimed that an officer saw Coltes hiding behind some bushes and walked up to him and opened fire. The man begged for his life, but the officer still shot and killed him.

(Newsday June 01)

The T&T Guardian also covered the story. Another resident said when he heard the commotion, he feared his son might have been involved. He claimed he ran after the officer, and saw him pointing a gun in Coltes’ direction as he hid in the bushes. He said he begged and pleaded with the officer to spare Coltes’ life, but the officer ignored him and fired four shots. (Guardian May 31) This individual, whose name is Ronald Warner, did not run after the police officer as reported, but witnessed the unfolding drama from his rear kitchen window that overlooks the L’Anse Mitan River, shouting at the top of his voice, Don’t Shoot! Don’t Shoot! as the officer took aim.

Based on the compelling evidence of three persons, one can only conclude that the police killed Daaniyaal Coltes under questionable circumstances. I denounce it as an act of blatant cruelty. This contempt for the sanctity of human life and the human person as displayed by an officer of the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service is a national shame and disgrace.

The list of citizens killed by officers of the T&T Police Service is long. It is a colossal tragedy, an indelible stain on the nation’s conscience. Nine victims come to mind: Njisane Omowale (1-8-90), Jaime Kevin Taitt (17-8-00), Glenn Liverpool (17-8-07), Lincoln Forde (17-8-07), Hayden Goddard (17-8-07), Jordan Charles (17-8-07), Wendy Courtney (17-8-07), Adisa Wellington (4-7-09), and Thaddeaus Wade (24-11-09).

I urge you to reopen the files of these nine persons. The cruel slaying of 21 year-old Njisane Omowale can only be described as horrific. The police officers involved were all exonerated. The killing of 17 year-old Jordan Charles and 18 year-old Thaddeaus Wade were also acts of utter brutality.

You are the head of a police force with a sordid record of cruelty and inhumanity. Yours is the responsibility to stop the mindless slaughter of citizens by officers who are resolved to be Judge, Jury, and Executioner. I trust you possess the moral courage to insist that henceforth, there will be zero tolerance of extrajudicial killings in the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service. Let Daaniyaal Coltes be the last, the very last victim of police brutality in T&T.

Ishmael Samad

AUGUST 17 2007

THE WALLERFIELD KILLINGS

LINCOLN FORDE (27)

HAYDEN GODDARD (44)

GLEN LIVERPOOL (45)

JORDAN CHARLES (17)

WENDY COURTNEY (40)

This is the worse case of injustice I have ever seen.

the%20victims%20004.JPG

Glen Liverpool

INNOCENT MOTHER OF FIVE KILLED IN

POLICE SHOOT-OUT AT WALLERFIELD

August 19 2007 / SUNDAY GUARDIAN / Leah Sorias

A 40 year-old mother of five was among five people killed during a shoot-out with police in the Wallerfield area on Friday evening. Wendy Courtney was killed during an exchange of gunfire between cops and four men by bullets that came through her bedroom. She was hit several times about her body and died on the spot.

Reports state that Northern Division police were on patrol along the Churchill-Roosevelt Highway near Agua Santa Drive, Wallerfield, around 5.30 p.m., when they intercepted a Nissan Almera car with four men. Police reports are that an exchange of gunfire ensued between the men and the cops. When the smoke cleared, Lincoln Forde, Glen Liverpool, Jordan Charles, all of Malabar, and an unidentified man lay dead.

Three of the men were killed in the car, while the other man was killed trying to make a run for it. While shooting at the escaping man, police bullets pierced Wendy’s bedroom wall, killing her instantly. The men were taken to the Arima District Hospital but were pronounced dead on arrival, police reports said.

During a press conference in the Police Administration Building yesterday, Commissioner Trevor Paul apologized for Wendy Courtney’s killing and said police were in constant contact with the family. He said the issue of financial compensation was still to be finalized.

Asked about the four dead men, Paul could not say if they had previous criminal records. He did say several firearms and spent shells were recovered from the scene. Paul said senior officers including ASP Pierre, Insp. Daniel of Northern Division, and an inspector from the Homicide Division had been assigned to investigate the shootings. Asst. Commissioner Maurice Piggott said 18 people had been killed by police so far for the year.

A witness claims the four men killed by police in Wallerfield on Friday afternoon were not bandits, neither did they shoot at the police. So says Saif Khalil, a resident of Santa Rosa. Saif, who is widely known in the eastern borough and its environs because of his mediation training, said he knew Lincoln, Glen, and Jordan personally. They were construction workers at a Housing Development Corporation site on Jacob Hill, Santa Rosa. They were not bandits.

Saif said Lincoln was the son of a prominent contractor and owner of Havana Recreation Club in Arima. Jordan had just graduated from Malabar Composite School and was working until the school term reopened. He was working so he could be able to buy books to go back to school.

The men were waiting for the sub-contractor on the HDC project to pay them, but he did not arrive until about 5 p.m. While they were waiting for the sub-contractor, they were kicking ball. When the men collected their pay, more than $5,000, and were on their way to Arima, the officers belonging to a joint Police/Army patrol came and just shoot up the car.

Three of the men were killed in the car, while the fourth man exited and began running in the same area where Wendy Courtney’s house is located. Saif said he also knew Wendy’s family. The woman was having dinner on her bed, in her underclothes, when she heard the commotion outside. She got up to close her bedroom window when she was shot. She ran outside and called out to the neighbors for help, but when the ambulance came she was already dead.

Saif claims that the men’s pay, as well as their jewelry and their tools of trade were stolen. The police never gave the family of these men any money, tools, or jewelry. I want to know what became of them. When questioned about whether money was found on the dead men, Piggott said he received no such information, but that the claims would be included in investigations.

FAMILIES REMEMBER RELATIVES

KILLED BY POLICE AT WALLERFIELD

August 26 2007 / SUNDAY GUARDIAN / Leah Sorias

Jordan Charles, 17, had been working at the Jacob Hill, Santa Rosa Housing Development Corporation (HDC) construction site for just two days, when he was shot to death by police two Fridays ago. Jordan had started work, unknown to his parents Steven and Betty-Ann Charles, because he wanted to help support three siblings.

On Thursday, the first day on the job, he returned home to tell his parents the good news. He came home late that day and told his daddy and I that he was sorry for coming home late but that he got a job, Betty-Ann said.

Jordan’s father, a mason, was uncomfortable with his son working at the site, since his son was young and had no experience in construction work. Steven told his son that the next day (Friday) would be his last. His dad told him to just go to work till Friday to collect his salary, and that he would start working with him instead from the following Monday, Betty-Ann said.

At about noon on Friday, he and his mother spoke. I called to see how he was going and he said he was okay and not to worry. She called her son again at about 4:30 p.m., when she knew it was time for him to come home. He told me he was finished working, but he and the other guys were waiting for a man to drop off their pay.

He and three other men, Lincoln Forde, Hayden Goddard, and Glen Liverpool, were shot by police in the Wallerfield area two Fridays ago. Police said they attempted to intercept the car carrying the four men when they were shot at. They also said they found several guns and ammunition in the men’s possession.

Jordan and Glen were buried on Friday, while Lincoln was buried on Thursday. Hayden’s parents, who reside in the US, returned to Trinidad yesterday. He will be buried tomorrow.

Last week, Betty-Ann Charles was adamant that her son was no troublemaker. Jordan never even had any police record, not even for fighting. He had just completed his CXC examination and was awaiting results. He is a graduate of the Malabar Composite School. He was not a bright boy academically, but he was a hard worker. He didn’t like to waste time, and he was the type to do anything to better himself. They had discussed his joining a Government programme to get some training.

Jordan was also a Christian and played the drums at the Malabar Gospel Tabernacle. They say when children are at home it is one thing, and when they are outside they are different, but from countless stories I heard from people, Jordan was the same outside. Nobody had anything bad to say.

She believes