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  • 1 year ago
Assistant Commissioner of Police Richard Smith is condemning an edited recording that circulated on social media on Friday which appears to depict senior officers failing to answer questions surrounding the death of three-year-old Jareem George.

The clip was fake, as at the time, officers did answer the question. Alexander Bruzual has more in this report.
Transcript
00:00At today's press briefing, Smith had strong words for the persons responsible for the
00:05edited footage.
00:06You know, what this person has done in essence is trivialise the pain and grief that the
00:14relatives of this child are enduring at this time.
00:18I believe it was an attempt to make the TTPS look bad as an organisation, but I just want
00:24to remind this person, who I believe has nothing else to do, that the TTPS is a strong,
00:30resilient organisation and these petty things cannot hurt us.
00:35He even referenced a popular radio programme that puts citizens at the back of the class
00:40for their actions.
00:41You know, there's a radio programme which puts persons at the back of the class when
00:47they didn't do something too bright.
00:50I believe this person should be in the toilet, in the school, in the toilet.
00:55He said individuals should be ashamed of their role in this footage being circulated as it
01:00was already a difficult time for relatives of the slain three-year-old.
01:05Little Jareem was killed in a fire at his home along Christian Avenue in Windy Hill,
01:09Aruka on Thursday night.
01:11Police were told that a man known to the family had broken into the home with a gas container
01:16and set the house ablaze.
01:19Little Jareem's mother and his three older siblings were able to escape.
01:23He was not as fortunate.
01:26He died on the scene.
01:27Up to today, the suspect has eluded the police.
01:31The TTPS is claiming that only about 1% of this country's estimated 1.4 million citizens
01:37are responsible for criminal activities in this country.
01:41As such, it is urging the public to unite with the organisation in the fight against
01:46crime.
01:47There are very few people who are bent on ensuring that Trinidad and Tobago somehow
01:54does not accomplish its goals.
01:56And therefore, we want to encourage all persons to take back their communities.
02:02It is said that it's less than 1% of the population that is involved in heinous crimes.
02:11And therefore, we are saying to the 99% that if we work together, hand in hand, we can
02:17take back our communities.
02:19Benjamin also touched on the six persons killed during confrontations with law enforcement
02:24in separate incidents throughout Trinidad last week.
02:28Questions have been raised in the public domain on whether police officers have been utilising
02:32body-worn cameras and if the PCA was being provided the footage.
02:37Benjamin reiterated that the TTPS was limited by the number of body-worn cameras they had
02:42in their possession.
02:44He also noted that the TTPS had departmental orders that governed the use of body cameras
02:50which covered when they should be used and how recordings should be handled.
02:55The Trinidad and Tobago Police Service remains committed to ensure that there is a level
03:00of integrity and also transparency and accountability in the things that we do.
03:07With or without body cameras, we have ensured that whenever there's a police shooting, there's
03:12standard operating procedures that are also followed to ensure that there's proper investigation
03:19and thorough investigation into each and every one of those situations where there might
03:26be police shootings.
03:29And therefore, we do not shirk our responsibility in terms of dealing with things thoroughly.
03:35Benjamin also declined to comment on questions raised by the media that there were difficulties
03:40in securing more body cameras for the organisation, despite an announcement last year that 3,000
03:47would be procured.
03:48He also declined to comment on reports that the Police Complaints Authority was not receiving
03:52body camera footage following police-involved shootings.
03:57Benjamin when pressed simply said that these issues would be addressed in the near future.
04:03Alexander Broussard, TV6 News.
04:05For more information, visit www.fema.gov.au
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