National Security Minister Emmanuel George says the police must protect themselves. He was responding to questions yesterday about claims of police brutality in Laventille on Friday. Speaking to reporters at a seminar on a report on The Drug Problem in the Americas by the Organisation of American States, George said the media needed to get both sides of the story.
The seminar was held at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine. “The press carried one view of people demonstrating and saying the police were brutal, but if you ask the police you will get a completely different story. You will find that police must protect themselves.”
On Friday, residents of Desperlie Crescent, Laventille, blocked the road and burnt tyres to protest the shooting of Brent Baptiste and alleged police brutality against Dillon Skeete and Camille Lee. The incident started when police tried to search a recently-opened Community-based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (Cepep) office, reports stated. During the incident, the police reportedly tried to search Baptiste, who resisted and tried to grab a policeman’s gun. Baptiste was reportedly shot in the left foot during the struggle.