TT pathologist: Live rounds were used

The three men shot dead during a protest last week in Linden against the hike in electricity rates were shot with live rounds and not rubber pellets, autopsies conducted by pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh and overlooked by a Trinidadian specialist have confirmed.

The autopsies also revealed that the men were shot through their hearts, and in one case, the victim was shot in his back. Police in a release said post-mortem examinations were performed on the bodies of Ron Somerset, Allan Lewis and Shemroy Bouyea, of Wismar, Linden, by Dr Singh in the presence of Trinidadian pathologist, Professor Hubert Daisley.
The cause of the death of Somerset was given as haemorrhage and shock due to multiple gunshot injuries; Lewis’ was given as perforation of the lungs and stomach due to gunshot injuries and Bouyea was given as perforation of the heart due to gunshot wound. Investigations into this matter are in progress, police said in its release.
Professor Daisley was retained by the Alliance For Change (AFC) to overlook the post-mortem examinations done at the GPHC. Close relatives of the three dead men were also allowed to identify their bodies.
In an initial statement, which made no mention of the fatalities, police had said that about 10: 40h last Wednesday, approximately 450 persons marched from the Wismar Community Centre ground to the Wismar-Mackenzie Bridge, where they remained blocking the bridge and preventing motor vehicles from crossing.
Subsequently, several of the some 1000 protesters erected tents on the bridge, and also placed derelict vehicles and logs across the bridge at several points.
According to the police, the protesters remained on the bridge and refused to move despite efforts by ranks under the divisional commander, who continuously pleaded with them to remove.
At about 18: 00h, the officer-in-charge of the Police Riot Unit, who had arrived on the scene, warned the protesters to move as they were blocking the bridge and were in breach of the law. The protesters, however, remained on the bridge, chanting that they will not move and will not pay any increase in electricity tariffs.
The police again told the protesters that they were breaking the law and that they should remove from the bridge, but they again refused and began hurling bottles, bricks, and other missiles at ranks of the Police Riot Unit.
At this stage, the officer-in-charge of the Unit again told them that they were unlawful and read the warning proclamation to them. The protesters continued hurling missiles at the police and began advancing towards the ranks, who used tear smoke grenades in a further effort to remove the protesters.
According to police reports, some of the protesters dispersed, but a large number of persons still remained on the bridge and began setting fires on the bridge, while continuing to chant and throw missiles towards the police.