A police exercise across Tobago yesterday caused major delays for commuters. Police were out as early as 5 am, setting up roadblocks on the Windward Road in Roxborough, Goodwood, Studley Park, Carnbee, Whim and Scarborough. Members of the public complained of being stuck in traffic for more than three hours in some instances and the gridlock forced some businesses to remain closed.
The T&T Guardian understands that the First Citizens branch in Roxborough and Republic Bank’s Auchenskeoch branch failed to open for business because their staff was said to be stuck in traffic. Many schools on the island, including Roxborough Secondary, Goodwood High, Scarborough Secondary, Signal Hill Secondary and the Scarborough RC School, also had to dismiss classes due to the low turn out of teachers, while numerous matters in the Scarborough Magistrates’ Court had to be postponed.
In an interview, ACP Tobago Garfield Moore denied police were participating in protest action. “We are expecting at the end of the day that the public will feel a little safe in terms of trying to eradicate guns from the streets,” Moore said, adding they were also ensuring drivers had proper documentation. Sr Supt Joanne Archie apologised for the inconvenience but said police were doing their jobs
“The police officers are out here in keeping with normal police practices. It was not all of a sudden, it was co-ordinated and in some areas officers took their initiative to conduct exercises in their area. What I have seen since I came out here is police officers conducting themselves according to the law and in keeping with their duties,” Archie stated. The police exercise ended at 11 am.