Senior Reporter
A San Fernando community is disputing a police account of a fatal shooting, insisting 45-year-old Shivnath Jogie was unjustifiably killed at his home, as calls grow for body cameras to bring clarity to such encounters.
Jogie, 45, of Railway Line Road, Victoria Village, was shot by officers who responded to reports of a violent altercation yesterday.
Police said they were called to a chopping in the area and found Jogie armed with a cutlass and a hammer. According to their report, officers attempted to engage him, but he advanced towards them, forcing them to open fire. He was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital, where he later died.
Residents, however, say the confrontation began earlier with a neighbour and escalated before police arrived. They allege the neighbour returned armed with a cutlass and that Jogie defended himself during that encounter.
One resident, who said he was nearby, described what he was told after the confrontation.
“When I went to the washroom, they realised that he was by himself, so the next guy ran down with the cutlass. I do not know what took place. When I came out of the washroom, he came down the road. My friend here is telling me, ‘Boy, I now chop Jah Jah there. The man came down in my yard with a cutlass and scrambled me and jack me up. I ended up chopping him in the head.’”
Minutes later, he said he saw an ambulance at the neighbour’s home and then a police vehicle heading towards Jogie’s house. He insisted there was no clear identification from officers before the shooting.
“I saw one of the officers come out of the jeep and walk into the yard. They never identified themselves. From home, I heard bang, bang, bang. ‘Open, open, open.’ A little while after, I heard bam. My cousin across the road told me that as Dumpa opened the door, the policeman made one step and just shot him in his face, in a split second.”
Another resident said he believed Jogie, who has a 19-year-old son, may have mistaken the officers for the man involved in the earlier dispute.
“The police came banging down his door. When he opened the door, the police did not give him a chance to think because he was still thinking it was the people coming to attack him again. When he opened the door, the police shot him one time.”
He claimed officers told Jogie to drop the cutlass only once before firing within the same second. Relatives who rushed to the hospital said Jogie was already dead.
Britney Francis questioned whether officers properly identified themselves and whether they could clearly see inside the house, which had no electricity. She said non-lethal force could have been used and described the killing as a “straight execution.”
Residents are now demanding a full investigation, arguing that trained officers should have de-escalated the situation and that body cameras could have resolved conflicting accounts.
“This is very important right now because the kinds of things that are going on and the police are involved, it would save the country and the government a lot of questions. It would save a lot of time because we would have footage to show, saying, ‘Aye! This is what happened.’ Story ends. Now we have to go with he-say, she-say because there is no proof of what really takes place,” Francis said.
Government has taken a cautious position on body cameras, with Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander saying he is not opposed to their use but does not consider them an immediate priority. He has said resources must first address officer safety, while concerns over past procurement are reviewed.
Guardian Media contacted the T&T Police Service for comment, but up to press time no response was received.
