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Head of the Prison Officers’ Association Gerald Gordon has renewed calls for prison officers to be allowed access to firearms, following an incident on August 30 in which an off-duty officer intervened in a near-fatal shooting in Champs Fleurs.
According to police reports, Dr Dorothy Williams-Chandler was driving her SUV around midnight on August 30 when a Nissan wagon, parked along the road, suddenly pulled in front of her vehicle and blocked her path.
Two men, armed and dressed in dark clothing, got out of the car and opened fire on the doctor and her husband. The off-duty prison officer, who was driving behind the couple, intervened, returning fire after one of the gunmen pointed their gun at him.
Williams-Chandler was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope by her husband. One of the assailants, later identified as Adam Wheeler of St Francois Valley Road, Belmont, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Speaking with Newsday on August 31, Gordon commended the quick and courageous actions of the officer.
“It could have gone another way for the doctor and her passenger,” Gordon said, referring to the victims in the attack.
Gordon wished Williams-Chandler a speedy recovery and said the incident highlighted the importance of arming off-duty prison officers.
“This is another instance that continues to show the benefit of having not only prison officers but also law-enforcement officers armed while off-duty,” he said. “Especially in these times in which we find ourselves.”
He said he hopes the authorities will see the value in properly training and arming officers so they can assist the public when needed and also defend themselves.
“He (the officer) was there at the wrong or the right place, depending on who you are in the situation,” Gordon added.
The association has long called for greater safety provisions for officers, especially after several attacks in recent years. On June 20, prison officer Govindra Balgobin was shot multiple times in a gun attack near Piarco Plaza, just moments after completing his shift at the Maximum Security Prison. He survived.
In response to that incident, the association reiterated its plea for officers to be allowed firearms. In a statement, it described the incident as part of a continuing trend.
Part of the statement read: “These murders are not statistics. They are real people, with grieving families and shattered homes, and the indifference shown to their plight is as painful as the crimes themselves.”
Commenting on the Champs Fleurs shooting, Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander extended well wishes to the victims and said the perpetrator met a fitting end.
“At the end of the day, there is only one solution for people who behave like that. The plot that probably awaits them is at the public cemetery – that is all I can say,” Alexander told Newsday via telephone.
He made it clear he believes those who commit acts of violence and lawlessness should not be part of society.
“Such individuals must not benefit from state resources, the jail, because they cannot conform to the rule of law,” he said.
Alexander said people who cannot contribute to society in positive ways remain a burden to taxpayers and fuel the decay of society. He reaffirmed his position that violent criminals must be dealt with through harsh penalties.
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