Commissioner of Police, Gary Griffith, has noted the increase in the number of police-involved shootings and is assuring every one of them will be investigated by the TTPS and the Police Complaints Authority to determine if the minimum use of force was used.
On Wednesday, two police officers were shot and wounded at John Street, Chaguanas – one on his left foot and the other in the lower abdomen when they went to execute a search warrant at a house.
Police returned fire and a prisons officer and a Venezuelan national were shot, and later died at the scene.
The Commissioner of Police said during the last two years, there were 131 incidents where police officers were shot at, with six officers, including the two Wednesday, being wounded.
Commissioner Griffith said that is equivalent to one police officer being shot at every six days.
Commissioner Griffith said Wednesday’s incident and many others show the danger the police face in the line of duty.
He said thankfully, no police officer has been killed in the line of duty for some time.
He noted criminals are not afraid and they are not hesitating to shoot at the police.
According to reports, around 4:30 pm Wednesday, members of the Central Division Gang and Intelligence Unit, acting on information, executed a search warrant at a two-storey building located on John Street, Chaguanas.
During the search, the police officers were confronted by two men who opened fire on them.
The officers returned fire, fatally wounding the two men.
One of the police officers was shot in his chest.
Two firearms, belonging to the dead men, were recovered.
One of the dead men was identified as Joel Ramsundar, an active member of the Trinidad and Tobago Prisons Service, and Aleandro Gomez, a national of Venezuela.
Ramsundar was last posted to the Maximum Security Prison.
Earlier yesterday, around 3.45 am, police went to Gasparillo Road, Santa Cruz, to execute a warrant on a man for being in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
They were fired upon and they returned fire.
The wanted man, was shot and wounded. He was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mount Hope, where he succumbed to his injuries.
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