Police, army use tear gas to break up Laventille protest

Opposition leader Basdeo Panday said Wednesday a violent confrontation in Laventille Tuesday is clear evidence that the $80 million paid to the Mastrofski consultancy team was wasted and that the incident exposes major weaknesses in the security services.

Picton Road, Laventille was the scene of the clash between residents of the crime-ridden community and members of the protective services as police used tear gas and fired in the air to break up an angry protest.

The Trinidad Express reported that people blame police. The paper said residents said three police officers picked up a teenager identified as Trevlyn Harry and took him to an area known as "Block Eight" in Laventille.

The paper said people told reporters that at that location a group of men beat up Harry while the police officers looked on. They said police told Harry he would be beaten more unless he took them to a gun stop. The 18-year-old, who was handcuffed, escaped while taking the police there.

The paper said when word spread about what happened people started gathering to protest. They burned tyres in the road and spilled garbage. It got worse after police arrived and tried to calm the protesters.

The paper said police fired in the air to disperse the crowd but when that didn't work they called in reinforcements to deal with the riot. That's when tear gas canisters were fired into the crowd

The protest ended by the evening. The Express quoted one angry young man as telling its reporters: "That eh the end...All yuh go have real work later."

In a news release the leader of the United National Congress (UNC) said what happened on Tuesday clearly identifies four main issues: “There is the question of the alleged police brutality, the proliferation of criminal gangs, the partnership between rogue policemen and the gangs, and the level of force used against the protesting residents.”

The former prime minister said he prefers to reserve comment on the alleged ‘police kidnap’ of Harry until an ongoing investigation into the claim is concluded.

However, he noted, “The PNM has spent over $21 billion on crime. The Mastrofski team was given $80 million to transform the police service. The government said crime would reduce but the reality is that the situation continues to get worse every day.

“It is a fact that there are some corrupt policemen who are in league with the criminals but nothing is happening to cleanse the service so that the honest, diligent ones can do their jobs.

“But the core problem is that criminal gangs are continuing to grow and the gang-culture is sucking in youths from an early age. People are fleeing entire communities to escape the slaughter. The gang territories are growing and the violence is claiming more victims every day. Why is the government taking so long to remedy this gang problem?”

Panday said he is very concerned about the tactics being used against protesting residents such as tear gassing.