THE Trinidad and Tobago Police Service must not descend into being controlled by a small army.
This according to a statement by the Nationwide Organization of We the People (NOW) in a release on Sunday.
It stated, “It is time for real police officers to stand up and be counted.”
The release stated, “Our TTPS must not be allowed to further descend into being controlled by a small army seemingly intent on becoming, in essence, a militia; led by a commissioner that preys on the fears, anxiety and emotions of a traumatised citizenry.
“Trinidad and Tobago must not become a country where the citizens are as afraid of the police as they are of the criminal elements.
“NOW reminds the aforementioned officers that they took an oath to uphold the rule of law as well as to protect and serve with pride.
“These solemn commitments trump self-serving interests such as fear of ‘emasculation’ and preservation of position or pension.”
It called on the members of the hierarchy of the TTPS and the Police Social And Welfare Association “to take a long and hard look in the mirror to determine his/her comfort level with what is seen.”
It stated that by their “craven silence” they have continued to enable Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith to be reckless.
It added, “Despite the camouflage, illegally worn by this CoP and others initially, the dehumanizing descriptions used to describe citizens of our T&T, the ‘bad John’ talk of ‘one shot one kill’ and all of the public relations gimmicks, our crime situation remains as untenable as it was three years ago while the number of persons killed by the police escalates.”
NOW stated, “Standing idly by while tenets of due process and the rule of law are eroded with impunity is no longer an option.
“Was our TTPS was far from perfect? YES; but it should never be that extrajudicial killings are the norm.”
