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A Beetham Gardens man who has been described an inspiration to others in the community has initiated legal action against the State and the acting Commissioner of Police after police broke into his home, stuck a gun to his head and threatened to kill him.
Kareem Marcelle, a second-year law student, claimed he was handcuffed while naked in his bedroom last month by police officers as officers searched his home.
His attorney Johnathan Bhagan has sent a pre-action protocol letter to the Office of the Attorney General and acting Police Commissioner.
The letter dated July 6, was sent on behalf of his clients Kareem and his two brothers Kevin and Kern Marcelle.
It stated that on June 27, 12 members of the T&T Police Service surrounded their Beetham Gardens home around 5.30 am. The lawyer said the officers broke down their back door using a sledgehammer.
On entering the house, Kareem, 23, claimed a gun was placed to his head as he got off his bed in shock.
Kareem, a former assistant treasurer of the TTPS Inter-Agency Task Force Youth Club and Youth Parliamentarian 2012 who was naked was told to get down on the floor.
As he clutched his bedsheet against his groin and buttocks areas to cover himself, an officer stripped the sheet away, exposing him in front of the other officers, his lawyer claimed.
He claimed he was handcuffed naked on the floor of his bedroom while officers paraded up and down.
Kareem was subsequently allowed to put on a pair of pants and was forced to sit in the living room with his hands handcuffed beneath his buttocks causing pain and bruising.
In 2017, Kareem was awarded T&T’s first Makandal Daaga Scholarship by UWI, where he began pursuing criminal law.
He was selected based on his involvement in youth activism and national development for his community.
Bhagan said Kern, who was under arrest, was held by the neck and forced to sit in his living room while the search was conducted.
Kevin, a father of two is an owner of a mini-mart, while Kern who has two children is the director of Abbike Construction Ltd. The brothers have no previous convictions.
After being detained for 30 minutes and their house thoroughly searched by officers and a K-9 unit dog, the officers left.
Bhagan claimed his clients were treated in an inhumane and degrading conduct and it was a clear evidence of discriminatory treatment.
He said his clients were not shown a warrant until after they were arrested.
“The executive must ensure that reasonable and probable cause to justify the issuance of such search warrants. It is incumbent upon the Attorney General and acting Commissioner of Police to ensure police officers are trained to act on actionable intelligence or else innocent citizens will continue to suffer needlessly,” Bhagan stated.
In addition to asking for financial settlement and legal costs, Bhagan is seeking a meeting with Al-Rawi and Williams to discuss improving the treatment of residents in Beetham Gardens.
“We would like relevant stakeholders to be allowed to attend this meeting in order to assist the TTPS in dealing with the crime situation in a humane manner as is keeping with the Constitution.”
Bhagan suggested a standardised policy be established to deal with these searches to prevent breaches of human rights. The AG and Williams have 21 days to respond to the legal threat.
Yesterday, Bhagan told Guardian Media that with the passage of the Anti-Gang Act the country has to be on its guard to ensure that the Police Service maintain the highest level of integrity and investigate their targets before they use their wide range of powers.
“Basically they can arrest anybody whom they suspect is a gang member and the Firearms Act also give them that power to pursue and search people.”
Kareem said the police abused their powers. “The amount of hostility that the police used was beyond ridiculous.”
He said for years he has been trying to bridge the relationship with the Beetham Community and the police.
As a public advocate against gang warfare and killings in Beetham Gardens, Kareem said has been threatened from different sides many times.