Eight police officers charged in 2023 as part of an investigation into alleged irregularities at the Firearm Unit of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) have been committed to stand trial.
The accused are Assistant Superintendent of Police Aaron Beddoe, Sergeant David Swanson, Sergeant Cindy Ann Chase, Sergeant Lincoln Bonnett, acting Sergeant Deyna Gibbons, Sergeant Mervyn Roopchand, Corporal Marvin Diaz and Police Constable Natasha Phillips-Paul.
They are jointly charged with misbehaviour in public office, arising from allegations that they conspired to issue approval letters to licensed firearm holders to purchase additional rounds of ammunition.
The officers were committed on Wednesday, following the completion of a sufficiency hearing before Master Margaret Sookraj-Goswami and will now face trial before High Court Justice Kathy Ann Waterman Latchoo.
During the preliminary proceedings, the State led evidence through 61 sworn statements. At the close of the prosecution’s case, attorneys for the accused submitted no-case applications. Following the State’s response, Sookraj-Goswami ruled orally that a prima facie case had been established and ordered the officers to answer the charges.
The charges arose from a wide-ranging probe into alleged irregularities at the Firearm Unit, including the granting of firearm variations and the unauthorised approval of additional ammunition.
The officers were initially charged in January 2023 after being detained by detectives from the Professional Standards Bureau (PSB). Investigators were instructed to lay charges after attorneys representing the officers filed habeas corpus applications seeking their release.
Two of the officers-Beddoe and Swanson-had previously faced charges linked to the same investigation. Beddoe was charged with multiple counts of misbehaviour in public office, while Swanson was also charged with several similar offences.