Honest, loving and dedicated. These were the words used by the three children of murdered security guard Bert Clarke to describe their father yesterday. Clarke, 59, an Estate Police Asst Supt (ASP) employed with Sentinel Security Services Ltd, was shot dead during an armed robbery of a money transport van in Macoya, Tunapuna, early yesterday. In a telephone interview yesterday, Clarke’s son, Rondell, said his father, who was employed with the company for more than 35 years, loved his job and was proud of it.
“He was the hardest working man around. No police or government minister could work like him,” Rondell said. He said shortly after starting the job, his father was part of the security detail for the late American pop icon Michael Jackson, when he visited Trinidad in 1978. Rondell said after receiving news of his father’s killing yesterday, he received dozens of calls from strangers who had met and known his father during his long career.
“My father always said no one wanted to do security work because the pay was too small, but it was enough for him to raise his family and put his three children through school and he was grateful and loyal to the company,” Rondell’s sister Suszanna said in an e-mail sent to the T&T Guardian yesterday. Rondell said although his father would have reached retirement age next year, he planned to continue working.
In an interview at the crime scene yesterday, head of the Homicide Division, Senior Supt John Daniel, described Clarke’s killing as “unfortunate and reckless.” He said the police will be working hard to solve the robbery and apprehend Clarke’s killers. He also warned would-be criminals that the police will be increasing their anti-crime initiatives for the rest of the year. “I hope good sense will prevail during the Christmas season,” Daniel said. Clarke’s funeral arrangements are yet to be finalised by his relatives.