In the past two months, the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment has noted four hostile encounters with criminals impersonating them, dressed in similar military garb and carrying high-powered weapons.
Public Relations Officer attached to the regiment, Captain Stephen Affonso, yesterday issued a media release following the latest clash between a joint army and police unit and irate residents in the Laventille area saying that criminals are in fact using “controlled military uniforms, high-powered arms and ammunition against innocent law-abiding citizens and law enforcement with often fatal consequences.” He said the regiment had been “closely monitoring” the number of random shootings for the year.
Affonso said that soldiers and police officers had been shot at several times in the past while on Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) Patrols and while the incidents were “not always highlighted in the media” they were “occurring more frequently in what can be considered traditional hot spot areas.”
Four clashes..
“On at least four occasions in the May-June period IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) Patrols have been encountering hostility,” he said
• On May 8, an IATF Foot Patrol encountered gunfire in the vicinity of Block Eight, Laventille, and had to radio for re-enforcement.
• On June 9, police officers and soldiers were shot at while trying to remove debris during a routine patrol in Cameron Hill, Petit Valley. This led to a violent outburst of gunfire at the patrol resulting in a police officer being shot in the thigh.
• On June 19, it was reported that in a shooting incident in the Cocorite area, attacks were made by a group of persons, two wearing camouflage and five dressed in black. There were no scheduled joint patrols in that area and the persons were wearing camouflage illegally. Only military personnel are authorized to wear camouflage.
• More recent attacks took place on June 20, where the joint patrol took cover after coming under heavy fire in Canaan Hill, Laventille, and on June 21, where 9986 Cpl Williams, while off duty, was shot at while driving his vehicle in the vicinity of the Picton water tanks. A round from this indiscriminate fire hit Cpl Williams in his knee.
“These attacks by criminals will continue to be met with the minimum necessary force to protect the lives within the community, the lives of police and soldiers and the wider society,” Affonso said.