EIGHT POLICE officers are to be charged with three offences of murder for the killing of three men at Second Caledonia, Morvant in 2020.
Police, last night, received instructions from Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard SC to charge a sergeant and seven constables who fired on Joel Jacob, 38, Noel Diamond, 46, and Israel Moses Clinton, 27, while they were unarmed and at least two of them had their hands in the air.
The officers were arrested between last Thursday and Friday and questioned over the weekend under caution by a hand-picked team of investigators led by Supt Wayne Abbott.
The charges is the culmination of one of the most in-depth investigations into police killings in the history of the country and the investigative team received considerable support from the Police Complaints Authority who had also found the officers were culpable of murder. Another ten officers are still under investigation for possible offences of misbehaviour in public office, conspiracy to pervert the course of public justice and other offences.
One of the eight officers, a constable, co-operated with investigators and gave a statement in the matter while the other reportedly remained silent when questioned by investigators.
On Sunday, acting Commissioner of Police McDonald Jacob said during a radio interview that he expected the investigators to approach the DPP by the end of this week for guidance.
But investigators said they risked keeping the officers beyond the 48 hours in detention without charges and would have had to release them if they were not charged with any offence by Monday.
Seven of the shooters had been sent on administrative leave in July 2020 after the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), which did a parallel probe, made a recommendation to then commissioner of police Gary Griffith.
The parents of Jacob, Sterling and Carol, in an interview on Friday, said their faith in the police and the justice system have been restored after the officers were arrested.
The tragic incident, Sterling said, had brought the oppressed community of Second Caledonia together in love, unity and harmony. He also praised the diligence and professionalism of the task force led by Abbott and the DPP for ensuring that justice prevails.
Contacted for comment on Monday night one of attorneys representing six of the officers, Ulric Skerritt, confirmed last night that the eight officers are to be charged with murder.
"I am sure my clients will face the court and be exonerated. They only did their duties," he said in a brief comment on Monday night.
He and a team of attorney, led by Israel Khan SC, are representing seven of the eight officers.
He had complained on Friday that the officers were being treated like "common criminals" and four of them were placed in cells upon arrest.
Police investigators got a breakthrough in the case after one of the officers, who left the country on a one-way ticket to the United States four months ago, agreed to return. A previous operation to arrest the officers had to be c
