(Trinidad Express) While many may believe that 2014 was a record year in terms of the number of people killed following altercations with members of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS)—with 46 dead following confrontations with officers—it actually was not.
The record year for police killings was 2010.
That year, 49 people were killed by police following varying interactions with the law.
However, the statistic for last year is still the second highest number of reported police killings since 2000.
This statistic is actually tied with the number of people killed by police in 2009.
In 2014 alone, over 500 illegal firearms were seized and removed from the streets of this country following police exercises; an estimated 75 per cent of the 404 murders reported for the year were committed via the use of firearms.
That said, the fact that investigations into several of these incidents are taking such a long time to be completed does not bolster public confidence in the police service either.
Most of the reports in which statements from the police and alleged eyewitnesses vary, are still under investigation, or if they have been completed, the information has yet to be properly disclosed to the public.
Joel Apparicio
And while the loss of any life is a tragic thing, the one incident which stood out this year among so many was the death of Joel Apparicio.
It is a unique case because if the events of witnesses to the incident are to be believed, he was killed by a police officer while making his way to the San Juan Police Station for assistance.
Apparicio, 31, was killed on May 22, by a Special Reserve Police officer (SRP) in San Juan while running along Real Street toward the Police Station, to make a report.
