Blaming police’s “reckless shooting” for the death of Princes Town cashier Kenton Keevin Williams on Sunday, outraged residents demanded justice as they blocked the Moruga Road with burning debris yesterday.
Scores of villagers, family and friends formed a rhythm section as they gathered in the middle of the road at Indian Walk from 5 am, angered by a newspaper report in which police identified Williams as one of the gunmen who fired shots at them on Sunday.
They said police were not telling the truth and Williams, 22, of Ramdhanie Trace, had just left his home in apparent frustration after it collapsed with him and his family inside.
His mother, Ann Marie Wells, said on Monday that her son was shot dead while on his way to deliver chocolates to his Valentine.
Villagers said Williams was innocently shot by police after gunmen opened fire on a neighbour’s home.
Speaking at the protest, Williams’ mother said police were yet to meet with her about her son’s death. She plans to visit the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) as she called for a proper investigation.
“Nobody has come to notify me on his death. He was shot from behind,” Wells said. She also called for assistance from Moruga/Tableland MP Dr Francis Lovell.
Williams’ cousin, Princess Madina, said their protest was also to clear his name. Madina said police saw when Williams walked by but when gunmen began shooting, one of the officers ran behind a parlour and fired a shot.
She added: “I was right there talking to the police officers and when we heard the shots, everybody ran. The police officer ran behind the parlour and started to shoot. He shot once and the bullet stuck. He cracked it back and the next shot fell out on the ground right there and they found it.
“About 13 jeeps came here the same night when that incident happened and they never searched behind the parlour. The next morning we found the two bullets there.
“Keevin walked right behind the jeep and when he passed the police were standing right there. The police saw him pass, I saw him and they shot him for nothing. He was just walking and the policeman thought he was a bandit. On the papers they said he shot back but where is the gun?” she asked.
Residents said police came into Ramdhanie Trace with a man who had rented a car from a villager and forgot his wallet in the vehicle.
Madina said after Williams was shot, the officers got into their vehicle and drove further into the trace. They returned 15 minutes later with their headlights switched off.
Another witness, Davey James, said they stopped the vehicle and asked the officers what happened but they claimed not to know. He said: “Had we not blocked the vehicle, they would have escaped and said bandits.”
According to VS Sankar the gunmen who opened fire while Williams was passing were shooting at his house and not the police. Sankar, who lives near Ramdhanie Trace, said his wife and a man had an altercation on Sunday afternoon. When he approached the man, he was threatened.
He added: “My wife was drinking and she got a little tipsy. A man came around my wife and I put him in place. I told him, ‘Do not come around my wife, don't be on that.’
“He said he was coming back for me in 20 minutes. He left and within the space of ten minutes, I heard shots ringing out.”
Sankar said when he opened the door, he saw Williams dead in front of his house. On Monday, crime scene investigators removed bullets from inside his bedroom which is believed to be from the men who shot at his house.
With him being labelled a criminal, residents said Williams was an honest, hardworking young man who worked at Market City, a produce depot, to support his mother and younger siblings. His employer, Siddiq Mohammed, said he worked with them for the past three years and was well liked by customers.
“All I can say about him was that he was a very good person. He cashed for us and he worked with us everyday for the past three years. It was not to say he had a bad character. He worked with us right through. You are hearing that he was a bandit and that is real hard to believe. That could never be possible,” Mohammed said.
His co-worker, Kevin Williams, described him as a respectable and loving young man. Standing on the road yesterday, his cousin, Anton Wells, said: “Look here is the establishment where the young man worked. If he was a bad young man, he would have never had this support here for him today.
“I am telling you Keevin was an innocent young man who got shot behind his head. You know what they are doing? They are twisting it in the media, saying he was a bandit. We wish to clear his name and his reputation because he did not deserve to die like that.”
What police said
Around 8.30 pm Sunday, St Mary’s Police Constables Rajkumarsingh and Horsford were on enquiries at Ramdhanie Trace when they heard several explosions. The officers observed three men, dressed in dark clothing, pointing guns in their direction.
Fearful for his life, Horsford fired a shot at the gunmen who ran into some bushes and escaped. On checking, the officers found Williams lying dead on the roadside with a gunshot wound to his head.
Corporate Communications head of the T&T Police Service, Ellen Lewis, said the incident was not yet determined as a police shooting.
Police said a ballistic test on the bullet that killed Williams would determine if he was shot by police. An autopsy on Williams revealed he was shot once from the back of the head.
The bullet fragmented with a piece exiting through his eye. The rest lodged in his brain.
Contacted yesterday, PCA director David West said once the family makes a complaint to them, they would look into the matter. West said the PCA also had the power to monitor police investigations but wanted the family to give a statement at its Tower D office at the International Waterfront Centre, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, before the authority intervened.