(Trinidad Express) A month ago, the sister of Nigel “Black Boy” Caesar told him his friends would look at him lying dead in a pool of blood and laugh.
Caesar was found in a pool of blood on Tuesday, but his friends were not laughing.
The 23-year-old painter was shot dead by police who claimed they were acting in self-defence as Caesar had opened fire on them.
So angry were the residents of Hill View, John John, Laventille, over the killing that they threw pieces of wood, old appliances and other debris over the wall of the John John panyard, onto the Easter Main Road, Laventille.
The residents hurled obscenities at the police and, when they could get away with it, threw stones and other items at the officers who they were adamant went above and beyond the call of duty to murder their neighbour.
The chaos began to unravel just after 5 p.m. when Caesar returned from his job as a painter at the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) buildings on Old St Joseph Road. According to residents, Caesar was walking down a flight of stairs when the lawmen opened fire on him.
The neighbourhood said after Caesar fell into a nearby drain, another officer ordered his junior to “shoot him again”. After numerous pleas by the residents for Caesar to be assisted, the officers “pick him up like a dog and throw him in the back of a jeep”, residents said.
Officers, on the other hand, said they were patrolling the area when they were fired upon and returned fire. Caesar was hit and taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Police claimed a 9 mm pistol was found on him.
