A retired Police Commander has said that River Sallee resident Yacouba Toussaint acted foolishly and risked being shot and seriously injured or killed when he defied instructions from a police officer on Sunday night to drop the gun that he pulled from his pants.
The ex-senior cop made the comment following reports that 39-year old Toussaint who is considered as a trouble-maker in the small village had been told on several occasions to drop the firearm to the ground.
He said the police officer should not have been doing that because the gunman could have turned the weapon onto him and shoot him instead.
“The man (Toussaint) could have shoot him. Even though you don’t shoot him to kill him but you break his foot – disarm him. I have to say he’s lucky,” he told THE NEW TODAY.
According to the retired senior police officer, if it was some of the officers who worked in his days at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) “they shooting him, they killing him – am telling you especially where the man had the gun dey and you telling him drop it – they shooting him.”
“It has some men in CID now if they were there they would have shot him,” he added.
The incident happened at a party place in River Sallee soon after patrons had to flee for their lives as gunshots ringed the air.
An eyewitness singled out Toussaint as the person who fired at least four shots and when police approached him, he threw the weapon over a cliff and into the nearby sea.
The retired cop is upset that the young police officer who had the encounter with Toussaint allowed him to walk away and throw away the gun.
“That is slackness,” he said, adding that the officer had a duty “to take the man down especially now with what is going on.”
This is an obvious reference to the recent upsurge of crimes in the country in which several persons linked to the illegal drug and arms and ammunition trade are engaged in a deadly war among themselves.
A release issued Tuesday by the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) confirmed that Toussaint and his female companion who were engaged in the confrontation with the lawmen have been charged for several offences.
The release said: “Officers attached to the Criminal Investigations Department arrested and charged Yacouba Toussaint, 39 years old Farmer of River Sallee, St. Patrick and Aminata Harry, 30 years old unemployed of River Road, St. George, in connection with Sunday’s (12.05.24) shooting incident at River Salle, St. Patrick.
Mr. Toussaint was charged with the offences of Possession of Firearm, Possession of Ammunition and Causing Public Terror, while Ms. Harry was charged with the offence of obstruction.
They were both brought to Gouyave Magistrate Court, today, Tuesday 14th May 2024, and were remanded to His Majesty’s Prisons. They are scheduled to attend the Sauteurs Magistrate Court on Monday 3rd June, 2024.”
According to the senior cop, he is picking up information from inside RGPF that a number of senior officers who can be considered as competent and knowledgeable have departed from the Police Force in recent years and this is affecting the ability of the lawmen to arrest the escalating crime wave in the country.
He said the unit now consists mainly of young people who lack the experience in fighting the criminal elements.