Senior Multimedia Reporter
Relatives of 28-year-old Nigel “Poogie” Mohammed are demanding justice following a pre-dawn police operation in La Romaine yesterday that left Mohammed and another man dead.
Police reportedly stormed a house on Ashley Street after jumping a fence near a church.
According to the police account, officers encountered a man inside the house who opened fire at them, prompting them to return fire.
But Mohammed’s relatives and residents are disputing that account, saying they believe the two men were killed in cold blood and are calling for an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding their deaths. The identity of the second man remains unknown, but Mohammed’s relatives say he lived in Pleasantville and La Brea.
Standing outside Mohammed’s family home yesterday, his sister Melissa Mohammed, 44, described the incident as an “unjust police killing”.
“This is a targeted police killing,” she said.
Melissa said her brother was inside the house when police entered.
“He was in the bedroom, yes, but he did not get shot on the bed,” she said.
She questioned the circumstances of the operation and called for a thorough investigation into what happened inside the house.
Mohammed’s brother Aaron also disputed the claim that the men fired at police, questioning whether forensic tests were carried out to determine if either man had discharged a firearm.
“Why didn’t they ask for gun residue?” he asked.
Aaron said such testing should have been done immediately.
He said Mohammed had been trying to turn his life around and had been working at a construction site in Tarouba.
“He was trying to change his life,” Aaron said.
Mohammed was also the father of a young son. Aaron said he had spoken to his brother on Saturday evening, hours before the shooting.
“I need justice. This is what I need. I need justice,” he said.
Residents in the area said they were awakened by a series of gunshots shortly after 5 am yesterday.
One resident, who asked not to be identified, said the shots came in several bursts, with several seconds between them.
“It sounded like somebody come to execute somebody,” the resident said.
The resident said police vehicles later surrounded the area and roads were cordoned off at several intersections. He estimated that five or six police vehicles were at the scene.
He also expressed concern about the proximity of children to the shooting.
Three children, including a baby, live next door to the house, he said.
“It’s scary because you don’t know who could have shot who and just like bust off in any way,” he said.
The resident questioned whether the operation could have been handled differently.
“I think they have to be handled more differently, plenty better than that,” he said.
The Mohammed family acknowledged that Nigel had a previous court matter involving marijuana but said he had been working and trying to provide for his son.
Melissa said he had previously worked through CEPEP and forestry programmes before moving into construction and maintenance jobs.
“He was working CEPEP, from CEPEP he went to forestries,” she said.
She said he also took on small jobs, including cutting grass and maintaining yards, because he had a child to support.
“Because he have a son to see about,” she said.
The family is now demanding answers about the circumstances in which police entered the house, the alleged exchange of gunfire and the evidence supporting the police account.
They are also calling for an investigation into whether forensic testing, including gunshot residue examinations, was conducted and are demanding answers about what happened inside the house.
Meanwhile, police said the two male suspects were fatally shot and two firearms seized during an intelligence-led anti-crime exercise targeting firearm-related offences, robberies and home invasions within the San Fernando Police District yesterday.
The exercise was conducted by officers of the La Romaine Police Post, Home Invasion Team (HIT) and Southern Division Task Force.
Police said they subsequently recovered a Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol, five rounds of .38 ammunition and 15 rounds of 9mm ammunition at the house.
