Enraged at the killing of their neighbour Kerron Wellington by police, residents of St Barb’s, Laventille, yesterday demanded justice and promised to get it for themselves by “dealing with police.” By the end of last night the residents had already staged two separate protests and promised they would not let up until the officers who killed their friend were brought to justice. They took to the streets last night again after police returned to try and clear debris they had set afire earlier.
At the scene of the first protest yesterday, residents were so enraged that they brazenly said police ought to be shot and killed. “We would do for them,” “We have to deal with them,” and “We would shoot them” were some of the threats made to the police. One man, with a straight face, clarified any misconceptions about what the residents meant when he said police would themselves be killed for killing Wellington, 27, who was celebrating his birthday early when he was killed.
According to police, around 10.15 pm Wednesday, members of the Inter Agency Task Force, led by PC Walker, were on mobile patrol near the Laventille Technology Centre when they saw two gunmen who opened fire on them. The police fired back and the two men ran away through some bushes and escaped. About three hours later, police were called to the St Barb’s area near Second Hamlet Trace. When they arrived they say Wellington and another man, who shot at them. The police fired back, hitting Wellington, who died at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital around 1 am yesterday.
Around 7.30 am yesterday, residents, after getting news Wellington had died, took old appliances and blocked off parts of St Barb’s Road and set fires. Firefighters who arrived on the scene to out the fires were turned away by a vociferous woman, who said the water should instead be used to fill residents’ tanks. Residents later told the media the police had murdered Wellington, who was the 38th person killed this year by the police. They claimed Wellington, who would have turned 28 today, was an honest hard-working labourer who, for the past seven years, slaved for a soft drink manufacturerer.
Police had initially identified the man they killed as 30-year-old Michael Duncan and not Wellington. Residents said there was a Michael in the village and believed the police had come looking for Michael and instead killed Wellington. They said the police who killed Wellington came in a marked vehicle with only two officers and after the shooting returned and asked what had happened but when angry residents confronted them they again left and more police were called in. His sister Krystal Wellington said her brother was training to be a technician in the company and worked tirelessly.
As the residents spoke with police about their distrust in them and the “wickedness” they had done, Wellington’s mother, Gail Gregoire, sat on the side of the road being comforted. She spoke of her son, who died before becoming a father, as an angel to her. “I have bad sons but this one wasn't bad. We is quiet people so we not into all this protest,” Gregoire said. “He was hardworking, if he was in thing I didn't mind but he wasn't in anything,” she added. Gregoire then screamed for justice as those around called for vengeance.
Seales: Response unfortunate
This was the second time in under four months that residents had turned their rage on the police after a shooting incident. In June, following the police killing of Kishawn Daniel, 19, his brother Kerwin Rodriguez also threatened police. Two days later, however, he apologised for the comment, assuring it was made out of grief. Rodriquez claimed police, before he apologised, had threatened to “deal with him” whenever they saw him.
His apology came one day after head of the North Eastern Division Task Force and vice-president of the Police Social and Welfare Association, Insp Roger Alexander, said Rodriquez’s statement was a direct threat to the welfare of police and their families and they would launch an all-out war against criminals in response to it. In response to yesterday’s threat, secretary of the association, Insp Michael Seales, took a softer approach, saying that the threat was an unfortunate response.
He added that if the residents responded with hostility and thirst for vengeance, then the residents in the area that need police help would be negatively affected. “They need to trust the judicial system and we as the association understand the grief that the friends and family are going through and we sympathise but they must allow due process,” Seales said. “We wouldn’t want them to take revenge and then descend into mob rule. That is not the right way to do it. “You cannot go about doing something illegitimately and hope to get a legitimate outcome. We would hope that prudence is exercised in the matter,” he added.
