(Trinidad Express) – The Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard has launched an investigation into another incident at sea, this time involving the crew members of Grenadian vessel who have accused its members of brutality.
The crew of the Grenadian “Rainia” vessel, which weekly travels to Trinidad and Tobago to conduct trade, claimed its members encountered a “nightmare,” experience with the TT Coast Guard, which resulted in the physical assault and hospitalisation of at least one crew member.
According to a recent report by the Grenada Broadcasting Network (GBN), eight crew members on the vessel were met with hostility by Coast Guard officers last week, which escalated to the assault of the crew’s captain and one crew member. The report states that the crew member was seriously injured now requiring surgery.
GBN journalist Rena Pierre Thomas reported that a routine check was performed by the Coast Guard on March 2 at around 3.a.m. The vessel’s operator, Keith Joseph recounted that the crew was met with aggression, with one officer using obscene language and pointing a gun in the direction of the crew.
Joseph said, “My crew members said, you have to be careful pointing that gun because you know it had an incident where a kid was accidentally shot and killed and that made it even worse.”
“He said, ‘You know what, we are taking you guys to the base.’ The captain said, ‘Why are you taking us to the base? It is kind of difficult to manoeuvre there with a boat that is pretty heavy laden’. And they said ‘You heard what he is saying, you’re not deaf. Bring the so and so boat in there.’”
Joseph said that the boat’s captain was pulled off by a Coast Guard member and slapped and kicked. A second crew member, who had voiced concerns over the officer’s use of a gun, was then beaten.
“One guy, the same guy who boarded the boat, jumped on board and pulled the captain off, pushed him off onto the docks and brutalised him. He was slapped, kicked, punched and thrown to the ground. And the same guy pointed to the member who mentioned the shooting incident and said, ‘You, I want you to come down.’ So, he proceeded and as he landed, they jumped on him. Slaps, kicks, punches, he fell to the ground. They continued kicking him, I tried to shout at them to stop,” he said.
The crew, he said, were scared for their lives. The report states that a plain clothes officer later intervened and allowed them to leave.
“A few moments later, he said, one plain clothed officer who they concluded to be a superior officer came to the dock and spoke to the Coast Guard. It was only after that encounter that the officers returned to the crew and told them that they could leave. The crew member was later hospitalised at the Port of Spain General Hospital for several injuries one of which he now requires surgery for,” it said.
The hospitalized crew member who spoke with GBN at Cave Augustine, said that he had suffered broken bones and other injuries as a result of the beating.
“I started to pee blood, look at my face, I got a broken bone on both places in my face. I am getting pain in the left side of my head. I can’t really watch in the sunlight because my eyes are blurry,” he said.
As a result, Joseph said that the crew would be seeking legal redress for the incident. He said that the Authorities should be held accountable for their actions.
“This is something we are going to make legal to make someone responsible, because we cannot be responsible. This is not a simple surgery or a cheap surgery. The coast guard, the Trinidad and Tobago Government, someone has to take responsibility for it. Someone must stand up and I am not afraid to stand up, it is the guy’s rights, it is human rights. It involves everyone, not just us. What will happen to us? We trade with Trinidad every week. What will happen to the foreign investors who can’t speak English when they fall into their hands?” he said.
In a statement released on Saturday, the Coast Guard stated that it was aware of the reports. The alleged actions, it said, would not be, “In keeping with the service-oriented ethos that the Coast Guard expects from its members and which it has displayed over the years.”
An immediate investigation into the matter, it said, would be conducted to determine what occurred and offer resolution.
“The Coast Guard takes all allegations of this nature very seriously because they affect public perception of the Formation which may lead to a breakdown in trust that is a key component for its mission success. As a result, the Coast Guard launched an immediate investigation on the same morning of the incident with a view to determining the facts of what occurred. This ongoing investigation will involve all parties concerned by the time of its completion. The Coast Guard wishes to assure the public that all efforts are being made to ensure that this matter is speedily resolved.”
“The Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard holds itself and its membership to the highest standards of conduct and in no way supports any abuse of power and authority. The Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard continues to provide border security and other services in the face of the threat of Covid-19 in order to maintain the safety and security of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago through the conduct of maritime security and safety patrols within our area of operations,” the statement read.
