"Oh Gord! Doh Shoot Meh Nah!"

The Tragedy of Extrajudicial Killings in Trinidad & Tobago

Since the ignominious days of Commissioner of Police Randolph Burroughs, extrajudicial killings have been a heinous component of policing in Trinidad &Tobago. Oh Gord! Doh Shoot Meh Nah! focuses on thirteen instances when the police assumed the role of judge, jury, and executioner. Twenty two persons lost their life as a result: Glen Liverpool, Jordan Charles, Hayden Goddard, Lincoln Forde, Wendy Courtney, Jaime Kevin Taitt, Thaddeaus Wade, Njisane Omowale, Adisa Wellington, Aneisha Neptune, Tristan Cobbler, Kevon Blake, Barry Lewis, Kwame Bourne, Joel Romain, Akee Caballero, Kerwyn Joseph, Daaniyaal Coltes, Kamal Krishna Ramdial, Kerron Eccles, Allana Duncan, and Abigail Johnson. Kerwyn Joseph was before the courts on a gang-related offence. Thaddeus Wade faced an armed-robbery charge while Daaniyaal Coltes was the prime suspect in one homicide. The others, with perhaps one or two exceptions, were all law-abiding citizens, innocent of any crime. Furthermore, they were all unarmed. Oh Gord! Doh Shoot Meh Nah! comprises of letters, emails, newspaper reports, editorials, as well as the eulogy for Glen Liverpool and a memorable poem by Njisane Omowale. An Appendix contains Amnesty International 2006 T&T Report: End Police Immunity for Unlawful Killings and Death in Custody; the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials; the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, and an essay entitled the Moral Law.