POLICE Commissioner is asking those in authority to consider the minimal bail clause after a 19-year-old man was granted bail after he was charged for being in the possession of nine high-powered rifles.
A release stated that the individual was granted $500,000 bail.
It stated:
“Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith is today fervently appealing to the relevant authorities to reconsider the minimal bail clause in light of the granting of bail to a man who was recently charged for possession of nine (9) fully automatic weapons of war, together with magazines.
“Commissioner Griffith states that several assault rifles in the hands of criminal elements, may result in the death of hundreds of people in seconds, yet when persons are apprehended for possession of these type of weapons, the present criminal justice appears flawed and at times favouring the criminal elements, rather than the potential victim. Commissioner Griffith states “when granted bail, these offenders can very well access another illegal firearm to continue attacking the State, and law-abiding citizens.
“This is with one weapon, far more someone who may have been held for possession of nine (9) assault rifles.”
He said the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) was “in a virtual war out there, given the types of weapons that the enemies of the state carry, but when they shoot at us and we return fire to defend ourselves, we are interrogated and at times condemned.
“Likewise, when we capture them, whilst holding them with the type of weapons that can kill dozens of innocent citizens in seconds; orders are then given in 24 hours for them to be released, thus allowing the enemy of the state to return to the killing fields, to acquire another firearm.
“This is certainly not a level playing field, and at times we are left to wonder why the controllable odds are being stacked against not only the Police but so too the law-abiding citizens.”
