Police stand by as TTT cameraman kicked

A female relative of a policeman charged with trafficking in cocaine  attacked a TTT news cameraman, damaging his video camera, outside the Siparia Magistrates court yesterday. The cameraman and other media personnel had gathered outside the courthouse to cover the matter involving the policeman. TTT’s South-based cameraman, Phil Britton, was outside the court carrying out routine duties when a female relative of accused cocaine trafficker PC David Merez attacked him (Britton) kicking him repeatedly. She then pulled at Britton’s camera which fell to the ground and was damaged.

Britton, recalling the incident to Newsday said: “It started even before that. When the girl and her mother got out of a car in front the court; the mother started threatening another camera man and myself saying not to take any picture of her, and if we did she would ‘mash-up’  the camera. No one was recording anything at the time,” Britton said. The  incident occurred after the officer’s matter was called and he was about to be brought out of court from the side entrance. At this time, Britton said, “I was positioning myself to get a picture when I felt someone kicking me, I tried ignoring it to get the picture I was looking for. When she noticed I was ignoring her, she grabbed the camera off my shoulder and threw it to the ground.”

The incident allegedly occurred while police officers were present and no one attempted to stop the woman’s attack on Britton. Sometime after the enraged woman was led away by police. Britton said he spoke to one police officer who referred him to another. A report was then made to the nearby Siparia Police Station. One senior policeman said, “Charges would be laid when we can identify who assaulted him (Britton). He has not been able to do that as yet.” The police officer said after the attack Britton was taken around to identify the attacker, but he was not able to do so. The incident was later condemned by the Association of Media Photographers of Trinidad and Tobago (Ampott). The association said that no fewer than six police officers witnessed the assault on Mr Britton, no one moved to assist him. They all said they saw nothing as the alleged attacker was escorted away by a police officer and allowed to leave. He was not able to estimate the cost of the damage to the $20,000 camera.