Almost as soon as 19-year-old Ray Phillips was buried at the Factory Road, Diego Martin cemetery yesterday, members of the Muslim community staged a fiery protest by burning tires on the Diego Martin Main Road. The protesters were venting their anger and frustration as they called for justice. Police said Phillips and other members of a gang opened fire on officers from the Western Division near the hills at Upper Richplain on Thursday night, and was killed when the police returned fire.
When the tires were set ablaze with kerosene around 3:45 pm, blocking the main road and the entrance to Richplain Road with thick plumes of acrid smoke billowing in the air, Phillips’ friends and relatives began chanting “La Ilaha Ilallah (There is No God but Allah).” Members of the group were reluctant to give their names saying that they were fearful of victimisation as they called out for justice for Phillips.
Six vehicles from the nearby West End Police Station responded to the disturbance and heavily armed police officers disembarked and faced down the protesters. A fire truck from the Four Roads Fire Station extinguished the blaze and cleared the road around 4.10 pm. Leader of the New National Vision (NNV) party Fuad Abu Bakr said, “The police account of what transpired is not consistent with what eyewitness are saying.
“For a long while now, a lot of people especially in communities that have issues have felt that the police use too much force. “Eyewitnesses’ accounts say that the police came upon him, they shot him from some distance and he fell. “They then walked up towards him, he was praying and begging them to spare his life, and they shot him twice in his chest.” He said the protesters just wanted justice, and that the police officer who allegedly shot Phillips needed to be held accountable for his actions.
Abu Bakr said the group was not refuting that Phillips had a gun, but they are claiming that he did not shoot at the police. He said the community “had issues, internal division and war almost,” so there were a number of young men up there who were armed. He said when the police officer is brought to justice, the group will stop its protest action.
A spokesman for the group related their concerns to Inspector Ferreira from the St James Police Station. Ferreira assured the aggrieved people that diligent inquiries will be made into the matter and no stone will be left unturned.