Police Constable Sherman Maynard, who was killed in the line of duty during last Friday’s prison break in Port-of-Spain, was described as someone who would be remembered as having all the characteristics of a hero, honest, hardworking, trustworthy and supportive.
He was described as such by acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams and weeping family members as mourners were told about the young man’s progressive attitude and commitment to his family’s legacy of protecting T&T’s citizens.
Maynard’s funeral yesterday at the Chaguanas Roman Catholic Church presented a tragic scene as his parents, dozens of family members and his fiancee, Danielle Huggins, surrounded by hundreds of uniformed officers packed into the church to celebrate the fallen officer’s life.
Williams told mourners about the young man’s progressive attitude and commitment to his family’s legacy of protecting T&T’s citizens.
Maynard graduated with a BSc in Computer Science from the University of the West Indies and shortly after focussed his attention on following in the footsteps of his father, mother, elder brother, uncles and cousins by joining the Police Service.
He was active in the service in the Port-of-Spain Division for 17 months before his death, which occurred one week before he was expected to go on temporary leave.
Williams, while offering words of comfort to Maynard’s family during the funeral service, said: “On Friday, as the saying goes, everything turned upside down and why? That question is one which I would not want to answer and one which none of us may be able to truly answer.
“Why did the events of Friday take place and our brother lost his life?”
The question, which has been a topic of heated public discussion since three inmates broke out of the Port-of-Spain prison, leaving Maynard dead, is one which is still under investigation by the Police Service.
Maynard was in the passenger seat of a passing police patrol when the three prisoners—Allan Martin, Hassan Atwell and Christopher Selby—bolted with guns blazing from the prison.
He was shot twice and died while undergoing emergency surgery at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital moments later.
Martin was killed in a stand-off with police while Atwell was found murdered in east Port-of-Spain the following day. Selby surrendered on Sunday and remains in police custody.
“What do you say to family members in a situation like this?” Williams asked.
“Here it is as parents who molded a young man in the way which any parent would want to be proud of, honest, dedicated, trustworthy, supportive, everything you would want of a son, these parents would have had.
“Somebody who had dedicated his life, has grown from a boy, education, university then chose to be a police officer. What do you say?
“For me, you envisage having a police officer in your midst with all those values and principles issued on him, somebody who society can be proud of operating as a professional,” Williams added.
He promised the family that the T&T Police Service (TTPS) would provide whatever support it could and called on the public to recognise that T&T could only be a better place when each and every one of its citizens could focus on making the country better.
“It is not easy to leave home on a daily basis to serve the society and get in return negatives not positives. Most of us would have faced serious bullets, some of us would have been shot and injured. When an officer died in the line of duty it is rare but extremely painful,” said Williams.
Maynard received a military funeral, with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley, National Security Minister Carl Alfonso and heads of the various divisions of national security in attendance.
He was described as a hero by his cousin, Kimber Abraham, who read the eulogy as well as by the Senior Superintendent of the Port-of-Spain Division John Clarke and Williams, who said he had defined what it meant to be a hero.
The motorcade which temporarily blocked parts of the Chaguanas Main Road resulted in traffic gridlocks around Ramsaran Street, Endeavour, and on the usually busy main road.
Officers from the T&T Coast Guard, Fire Services, Customs and Excise Division and immigration officers all paid tribute to the fallen officer.
Mayor: Maynard has left legacy
Fallen police constable Sherman Maynard left a legacy of service which serves as a fine example to youths.
So said San Fernando Mayor Kazim Hosein as he delivered condolences to Maynard’s grieving family, six days after Maynard was killed in a daring jailbreak at the Port of Spain prison.
Speaking on behalf of the aldermen and councillors of the San Fernando City Corporation, Hosein said: “We are deeply sorry for the loss that you have endured and we are deeply grateful for your loved one’s sacrifice.”
Saying there can never be any justification for the loss of life suffered by this young police officer, Hosein added: “At the age of 27, Constable Sherman Maynard was a young man who stepped forward to serve his country and his community. Despite his relatively short life he leaves a legacy of service and an example of duty for our nation’s youth.”
Maynard, who is a relative of Senior Supt Johnny Abraham, was shot twice while he sat in a patrol vehicle outside the prison during the escape of Allan “Scanny” Martin, Hassan Atwell and Christopher Selby.