Police shoot Maraval man dead

The shooting death of 21-year-old Damien Antoine by a police officer has caused outrage in the little village of Le Platte, Maraval, where the incident occurred.

Antoine was shot four times at point blank range by a police officer who was accompanied by two other officers, said to be making routine checks in the area. According to reports, shortly before 9 pm on Thursday night, Antoine left his home when there was a power outage, and met with friends at Phillip Trace, a short distance from his home. While liming with his friends at the street corner, a car with three police officers pulled up along side the group and announced their presence.

Antoine’s four friends, who were at the street corner, all attempted to flee the scene. It was at this point, the officers opened fire on the group. But eyewitnesses said Antoine put his hands in the air, and told the officers, he “had nothing on him.” The shots continued however, and Antoine was shot four times about the body and died on the spot. His other friends were chased by the officers, and taken to the police station where, up to press time, they had not been released.

When Newsday visited Le Platte Village yesterday, residents expressed outrage at the killing, saying the officers often came to their area and provoked the boys living there. Sister of the deceased, Patrice Antoine, wept openly as she told reporters of the last time she saw her brother alive. Antoine’s sister said: “We know the officer who kill my brother. He is known around here to be threatening all the boys. He is known to be extremely gun happy. But my brother didn’t deserve what he got. He was never in nothing.”

Another eyewitness said, “the police chase me away when they saw that I was looking at them putting Damien’s body in the car. I heard them talking, and they ask each other if ‘he’ dead. One of the officers said yes, and then they dragged Damien’s body to the car and put him in. If the man dead, what they move him for? They supposed to wait until a DMO come or something.” The villagers said Antoine’s death had hit the entire community hard as constant taunting from officers was bound to result in someone’s death. Antoine’s four friends remain in police custody for investigations into possession of arms and ammunition.