00:00Former chairman of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation, Anil Juteram, says crime in this country has gotten to a treacherous place throughout the years.
00:09He adds that the recently declared state of emergency has been implemented to curb heinous crime-plaguing citizens and places more power in the hands of law enforcement.
00:20And while a surge in police-involved killings during this period has been noted by the Police Complaints Authority, which is an independent body set up to look at the conduct of police in carrying out their duties, Juteram is making this call to the head of the PCA, David West.
00:36To kindly allow those servicemen and women to defend their lives in the performance of their duties.
00:46You know, I am not in any way condoning any acts of murder or violence in this country.
00:55However, he says sometimes it comes down to the life of the criminal or the life of the officer interfacing with the criminal.
01:02If it warrants, you know, to save a colleague's life or to save the life of theirs, they would be required to shoot at the perpetrator who may be aiming a gun at them.
01:16And if it turned out to be a casualty in terms of a life lost, well then, God forbid, but it was either the bandit killing the officer or the officer trying to save his or her life and that of their colleagues.
01:40Juteram notes the brazen attacks of criminals on two state prosecutors, Dana Setahal and Randall Hector, as well as the lives of others that were gruesomely snuffed out by these elements.
01:52It's strange. I've not heard a word of condemnation like what I'm hearing now in terms of the police shootings during the state of emergency.
02:05And we have seen plenty of police officers lost their lives in the line of duty.
02:12Juteram believes as it stands, the PCA can act as a deterrent to police officers saving their own lives as they carry out their duty.
02:19He says the side of the police in cases where there is a police involved shooting is critical to the narrative that is being told.
02:28It warrants that. It doesn't broadwash, you know, for him to come out and say that he's concerned about the absurging killings during the state of emergency.
02:39It gives a sort of green light to the criminal element.
02:44Juteram is calling for a legislative change as he states that the initial framework of the Constitution didn't envisage the present state of crime in the country.
02:54He believes that there should be an alternative to the PCA.
02:58He believes it should be comprised of a balanced committee full of independents and different lawyers, criminologists and so on to examine what does this right take place and, you know, make a firm decision.
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