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PORT OF SPAIN City police have denied locking cemeteries in Port of Spain early during All Souls’ Day observance on Tuesday, leaving some mourners locked inside and forcing many others to climb over walls to get in and out.
In fact, head of the Municipal Police Supt Glen Charles said he was hurt by these false reports.
Although Port of Spain Mayor Joel Martinez promised to allow the public to have access to the cemetery until 7 pm, many took to social media to condemn the police and City Corporation for cutting the time short.
There were also reports of people being locked inside cemeteries and others who arrived just before 7 pm hoping to light candles by the graveside of their dearly departed, resorted to climbing the walls to get in.
When contacted on Wednesday to confirm these reports, Supt Charles said, “That is not true. In fact, I gave instructions to officers to be understanding and use a little discretion and go up to 7.30 pm or even 8 pm. All we ensured was that the traffic was controlled because we have had reports of people stealing items from graves and we don’t have the manpower to police the whole cemetery.
“I think what happened what went on, from my report, is coming closer to 7 pm police closed the gate to limit the number of vehicular traffic coming into the cemetery. No one was banned from accessing the cemetery. In fact, I know some went up to 8 pm.”
Newsday was at the Mucurapo Cemetery where an announcement was made through a speaker from a police vehicle at 7 pm asking everyone inside to leave so that the gates could be closed. Another person also confirmed that police were seen trying to clear the Lapeyrouse Cemetery at 6.45 pm.
Charles said the police did their best to accommodate the public. “What was unfair is that everyone knew the authorities had to close the gates by 7 pm but people were coming five minutes to the hour now looking to clean up graves.
He also denied anyone being locked in. “Before we locked any gate the police made a complete check to ensure there was no one in the cemetery. We had the inspector on the ground and he reported that nothing of that nature happened.”
He said the only problem some officers encountered was trying to convince people to leave almost half an hour after the cemetery was expected to close.
“We always have the challenge because what we found was people always come two minutes before closing time or some people saying they came from far while others said they needed more time with their loved ones who are six feet under.
"This year, like every other year, we understood people’s sentimental values and we gave them some more time and then used gentle persuasion and reached out to them.
“When I saw those reports I really felt taken aback knowing police made every effort to be understanding yet people decided to cause mischief with these claims."
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