Police Constable Shiva Ramrattansingh, one of two officers involved in a gun battle with a gang in the Sea Lots area last Monday, is being hailed a hero. Assistant Superintendent of Police Lennard Gay said Ramrattansingh's action was worthy of an award. He miraculously escaped a barrage of bullets fired upon an unmarked police vehicle near the old fish market. Gay was a passenger in the front seat of the vehicle when it came under fire. Speaking with the T&T Guardian at Police Headquarters on Thursday, Gay described Ramrattansingh's action as outstanding and remarkable. Gay said they were on their way to turn the vehicle when they passed a group of five men standing on the roadway.
After one of the men shouted "lights," bullets rained on the police vehicle, he said. "They were standing up normal and they just start to fire," he said. "They just started blazing shots at us, and Ramrattansingh started to shoot first, then I followed. "But if you see how he spin that vehicle around without looking back...I couldn't believe it, because shots were coming from all different directions." Gay said it appeared the gunmen didn't want Ramrattansingh or him to leave the area alive. He admitted the assailants appeared to have sophisticated weapons, compared to the pistol Ramrattansingh and he carried.
"When we were going back out on the street, is heavy gunfire from the next side...They decide we wasn't coming out of there alive," he said. "They got a good fight with what we had, even though we realised the heavy power they had was no match for us. He said experience, training and their instinct were also responsible for their survival. Both Gay and Ramrattansingh are on leave. Head of the CID Snr Supt Glenn Hackett said the incident might have stemmed from ongoing warfare between a Sea Lots gang and another from the Western Division (Cocorite).
