The community of Second Caledonia is crying out for the wheels of justice to move faster in the case of the police killing of three men two years ago.
They want the police officers involved brought to justice and the men cleared of accusations of wrongdoing.
The killings of Joel Jacob, 38, on his birthday; his childhood friend Noel Diamond, 46; and fellow villager Israel Moses Clinton, 27, sparked sporadic protests in communities across Trinidad on June 27, 2020, and two succeeding days.
Diamond’s mother, 76-year-old Priscilla Brooks said she mourns her son, who did everything for her while he was alive.
[caption id="attachment_962280" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Precilla Brooks, mother of Noel Diamond, one of the three men killed by police officers two years ago at Juman Drive, Second Caledonia, speaks about her hardships and grief since his killing. Residents of the area held a candlelight vigil to mark the anniversary. - ANGELO MARCELLE[/caption]
“If it wasn’t for the Lord I don’t know if I’d be standing up here today, I depend on all my neighbours to help me, to go to the grocery, to the market.
"But when my son was alive, I used to sit down home and he used to do everything for me, birthday, Easter, Christmas, everything – and people just come and assassinate him and take him away from me.
“I does have a strong spirit in me, I can’t cry so. But I have a picture; every morning I take it and pray and say, 'Lord Father, take care of my son.'
"I don’t know what happened, and I need justice for him, I need justice for my last little baby boy.”
Jacobs’ mother-in-law, Evette Williams, said she and Jacobs’ mother Carol had been left to raise his two young children.
[caption id="attachment_962281" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Residents of Juman Drive 2nd Caledonia, place candles at the foot of a mural in honour of the three men who were killed by police officers two years ago. - ANGELO MARCELLE[/caption]
“Joel worked hard to support his children. He was killed on his birthday and was killed 25 feet from his yard.
"He found it didn’t have enough drinks in the yard and he got a drop to come to a shop, and as he jumped in the car, police came up and killed him.
"He didn’t have anything, not even a pen – what is the reason for doing that?
"We want justice. It’s two years. Justice is too slow for poor people. If it was somebody else in Valsayn or somewhere they would have had justice already. Why is it so slow for poor people?”
Jacobs’ mother said the police service needed to make an example of the officers involved in the killing, “so that in the future we wouldn’t have this nonsense. We need the Police Complaints Authority to look into this –all those people (who) make laws, uphold laws – look into this, because it’s two years now. They hiding, they covering, they lying. Why they doing that? It’s time to do something positive.”
Jacob’s father Sterling said the community was hurting and seeking justice. He said the wheels of justice were moving too slowly as there was enough evidenc
