Police to investigate Laventille standoff
Wednesday 13th May, 2009
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| Police with guns drawn try to calm the crowd |
A police investigation into the Laventille standoff has started and three officers from the Inter-Agency Task Force officers have been removed from frontline duty.
The officers were accused of taking 18-year-old Trevlon Harry from Picton Road and taking him to an area occupied by gangs rival to those in Picton, Laventille.
Acting Commissioner of Police Gilbert Reyes, who is acting in the absence of James Philbert says he has assigned a senior officer to investigate the allegations and "in the meantime, in the interest of transparency and fair play," he has decided to remove the three officers from frontline duty.
Mr. Reyes says if the allegations against the police officers are true, decisive action will taken against them because the service will not condone that kind of behaviour meted out to a population whom they have vowed to protect and serve."
The acting commissioner says the police are working closely with communities in Laventille on several projects and do not want the partnerships to be undone because of this incident.
Today Picton road was clear of debris and life appeared to return to normal, as several residents took time to catch up on reading the newspaper articles on yesterday's incident.