Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says there is no need for a curfew following the killing of a municipal police officer and the theft of dozens of firearms from a police facility in Trinidad and Tobago.
In a statement issued Sunday, Persad-Bissessar said she had been advised that the incident at the San Fernando City Corporation Municipal Police Station on King’s Wharf was not an external attack on the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) or other national security agencies.
Instead, she described the incident as an “internal betrayal” within the Trinidad and Tobago Municipal Police Service (TTMPS).
The Prime Minister emphasized that the TTPS is separate from the municipal police service and confirmed that TTPS officers were not involved in the incident.
She said the Ministry of Homeland Security and the TTPS will provide full support to the municipal police, Robert Parris, and the San Fernando City Corporation as authorities investigate the matter, recover the stolen weapons, and bring the situation to closure.
The body of Acting Corporal Anushka Eversley, 42, was discovered at the Municipal Police Headquarters on Lady Hailes Avenue in San Fernando around 4:40 a.m. Sunday.
Authorities reported that 62 firearms and approximately 4,000 rounds of ammunition were stolen from the station’s armoury. Eversley, a mother of three children aged 18, 15 and seven, had more than 19 years of service. Officials said she was fatally shot in the upper body.
In her statement, Persad-Bissessar also addressed a separate incident involving bodies discovered at the Cumuto Cemetery, noting that authorities had determined the remains were unclaimed bodies that had been improperly disposed of, and not homicide victims.
She said both matters are being actively investigated and are expected to be resolved in the coming days.
“There is no need for any curfew,” Persad-Bissessar stated, adding that law enforcement continues to make progress in addressing crime. She encouraged law-abiding citizens to continue their normal activities.
The Prime Minister also thanked Commissioner of Police Guevarro and TTPS officers for their swift response to both incidents.
