Ramlogan condemns Coast Guard inquiry

Mohammed was shot in the head by a Coast Guard officer on July 28 at the Gulf of Paria while fishing in the company of two relatives.

He died one week later at the Intensive Care Unit of the Port-of-Spain General Hospital.

Ramlogan said he feels that the inquiry can be heard before a retired judge.

Ramlogan condemned the investigation into the shooting death of Mohammed as ‘a farce’ and also condemned the findings of the preliminary investigation conducted by the Coast Guard which completed its probe into the shooting death of Mohammed on Saturday and came to the conclusion that the officer who shot Mohammed did not have any malice or ill intent.

Ramlogan described the findings as biased and one-sided and said it was a mere public relations job designed to do damage control and salvage the poor image of the nation’s protective services.

The inquiry, he said was clearly designed to exonerate the Coast Guard instead of confronting the clear excessive use of force on three young, unarmed fishermen who he said were simply trying to earn an honest living by fishing.