00:00The Commissioner of Police says investigators deliberately withheld evidence from the public
00:04following the January 20th police involved a shooting involving Joshua Samru and Kaia Sealy
00:10to avoid compromising future court proceedings. Speaking to reporters following the launch of the
00:16diplomatic security unit at the Sinclair Police Station on Friday, the Commissioner defended the
00:21approach taken by investigators amid ongoing public debate surrounding the case.
00:26And the court of law is not a public court of law in terms of we cannot cast judgment outside
00:33of what
00:34would be expressed in the court. As I told Trader and Tobago when this incident occurred I wanted to
00:40come out and show everybody the evidence that the police were gathering but I was stopped
00:48because we need to express these things in a court of law and by us doing that it would prejudice
00:55the
00:55outcome. The matter has sparked protests and public calls for accountability after Samru was killed
01:01and Sealy injured during the incident earlier this year. Sealy is now facing several criminal charges
01:07including manslaughter. The Commissioner also defended police action taken during recent demonstrations
01:13linked to the case saying officers acted within the law after repeated warnings to protesters.
01:19We the TTPS we are not trying to circumvent persons rights to expression of freedom of expression. What we are
01:29doing is that we are trying to tell persons that there is a right and proper way to do things.
01:34There's
01:35something called the rule of law. My officers took pains to explain to these protesters before embarking on
01:44their protest as to what was expected of them and they decided to throw caution to the wind. The police
01:50had to act. We are not living in a lawless society. His comments come as police continue warning citizens
01:56about state of emergency regulations restricting protests within 500 meters of several state institutions.
02:04The Commissioner also appealed for calm saying misinformation and speculation surrounding the case
02:10were contributing to public tension. Other persons have decided to
02:19expose what they have uncovered as what they believe to be the truth and they are causing confusion and
02:27drama and bacchanal behavior in the public. And I want to urge the public to remain calm. Everyone will get
02:35their day in court and it will be expressed before a magistrate, before a judge, before a jury,
02:42and the whole of Trader Antabigo will know. Aksha Galston, TV6 News.
02:46of Trader Antabigo, TV6 News.
02:47The of Trader Antabigo, TV6 News.
02:48Aksha Galston, TV6 News.
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