While citizens are being forced to safeguard themselves against the criminals, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Curt Simon reminded that people must still operate within the confines of the law.
He also stressed the importance of proper firearm training for self-defence situations.
His comment comes in the wake of a recent home invasion in Egypt Trace, Chaguanas, which resulted in the fatal shooting of a 25-year-old intruder.
Speaking with reporters at the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) school supplies distribution event held at Police Administration Building in San Fernando yesterday, DCP Simon sought to clear the air on the topic of self-defence.
“What people must be aware of is law. Self-defence must be met with the threat against them, and an investigation will tend to demonstrate if someone may have gone over that threshold. Even if an investigation might have led that perception to prevail, there is still a court of law that would eventually deal with that aspect,” he said.
The incident on Saturday night involved Mark Anthony Joseph, who was killed by a homeowner while reportedly attempting to break into her home. The homeowner, a woman, had armed herself with her husband’s licenced firearm. Police received a report from the homeowner claiming that despite her warnings to the invaders, they persisted, leading her to fire a round that ultimately struck Joseph in the head.
DCP Simon said, “I continue to implore people that they need to get themselves properly trained with the use of firearms. We do not want people to be holders of Firearm User Licences (FULs) and when the need arises, they operate in fear. When you operate in fear, there is a lack of continence and you may do something wrong. We pray against that.”
“People need to get themselves properly trained so they would not overexercise any authority that the law has already given to them,” the Deputy Commissioner said.
Responding to queries on whether the homeowner could face charges, DCP Simon clarified, “Whatever the facts present is what the police will operate on, what the court would operate on. Each case is investigated on its own merit based on the circumstances that exist in the case.”
He reiterated his call for training and proper self-defence techniques.
“I do not want people to be afraid to defend themselves. People can defend themselves with whatever is before them. They must just make sure that the defence of themselves must be within a certain remit which the law already prescribed,” he added.