The Special Reserve Police (SRP) constable who fatally shot PC Govindra Ramroop at the Guapo Police Station last Thursday has been sent on leave.
A senior police officer said the officer was given time off while he underwent counselling but other officers said it was also to facilitate the investigation into Ramroop’s death. The officer was also attached to the Rapid Response Unit to which Ramroop was also assigned.
Reports are that Ramroop, the offending officer and another colleague had just returned to the station after responding to a report from a woman who claimed she was receiving death threats.
While the offending officer was clearing his gun it discharged, hitting Ramroop at the side of his abdomen. He was taken to the Point Fortin Area Hospital where he died while undergoing emergency treatment.
Initial reports suggested that the gun went off accidentally. Another senior officer said the Region Three Homicide Bureau was probing all angles. The offending officer has given a statement to investigators, sources said.
Meanwhile, Ramroop’s colleagues and members of his family are expected to be counselled by members of the T&T Police Service’s (TTPS) Victim and Witness Support Unit.
Ramroop, 25, of Laltoo Trace, Penal, was married for just over a year and was hoping to start his own family. Speaking by telephone yesterday, his brother, Garvin Ramroop, said they expected to meet with homicide detectives today to get an update on the investigation. He agreed with comments made by acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams at his brother’s funeral that guns do not accidentally discharge themselves and that if anyone was found culpable, action would be taken.
However, he was unsure whether other senior officers shared Williams’ view, saying that most of them labelled his brother’s death as an accident. “We are pleased in a sense that the Commissioner of Police said that but he would not be directly overseeing the investigation.
‘I can agree with that but it is how many officers will agree to what he said because before he made that statement other senior officers were saying that it was an accident.
“As head of Police Service, the commissioner said guns cannot discharge itself and I want to know if they will be following up with regards to the officer.
“I basically think that in this case, the guy should already be charged because a gun cannot fire on its own. The only thing they should be checking is whether it is homicide or manslaughter. They are still lingering on whether it is an accident or not,” Garvin said. He suggested that the Police Service train its officers on the proper use of firearms every six months and should make it mandatory for them to undergo regular testing. He stressed that the service needed to be more proactive in terms of firearm safety.
“Apparently when they train officers and they come out, some forget how to use a firearm. A firearm is not something to play with or forget how to use,” he added.