Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
The father of a man, who was shot dead by police officers alongside another man in Moruga last year, has filed a lawsuit against the Office of the Commissioner of Police over its refusal to disclose information related to the probe into the duo’s deaths.
Last month, lawyers for Sonah Lochan filed the judicial review lawsuit alleging breaches of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
He was granted leave to pursue the case by High Court Judge Kevin Ramcharan.
Lochan’s son, Visham Singh, and Shumba James were shot dead by police officers while driving in Singh’s car in St Mary’s Village, Moruga, on April 25, 2025.
Police officers claimed that the men shot at them, and they returned fire.
The shooting took place shortly after James was released from detention during a State of Emergency (SoE).
James was detained as he was identified as a credible suspect in illegal activities, including murders.
His detention was deemed necessary to allegedly prevent him from acting in a manner prejudicial to public safety and order.
James was one of the State’s main witnesses against six police officers who were charged with murdering his girlfriend, Alana Duncan and two of her friends in Barrackpore in 2011.
Duncan, Abigail Johnson and Kerron Eccles were driving a car suspected to have been used by James in the past when they were shot by the officers.
In November 2023, the officers were all found not guilty of the murders by a 12-member jury before Justice Carla Brown-Antoine.
In his court filings, obtained by Guardian Media, Lochan’s lawyers, Michael Rooplal and Kevin Ratiram, claimed that their client requested the information after he saw media reports on the shooting, in which James’ father claimed that police officers threatened to kill his son weeks before the shooting.
They claimed that the T&T Police Service (TTPS) never confirmed whether a gun was found in his son’s car and noted that the family’s home was not searched for illegal items after the shooting.
In July last year, Lochan requested all the witness statements, CCTV footage and photographs collected in relation to the shooting.
The TTPS acknowledged receipt of the request but did not officially respond to it until February this year, when it indicated that the documents requested were exempt from disclosure as such would compromise the ongoing investigation into the duo’s deaths.
Lochan’s lawyers claimed that the TTPS failed to conduct a proper balancing exercise to determine whether the exempt documents should be released based on public interest.
They stated that while the TTPS explained the factors weighing against disclosure, it failed to identify factors supporting disclosure before conducting the balancing exercise required under the FOIA.
“By failing to conduct a proper balancing exercise as required by Section 35 of the FOIA, the defendant has not demonstrated that disclosure of the documents requested by the applicant would be contrary to the public interest,” they said.
They noted that the information was requested to help determine whether Lochan had grounds to bring a lawsuit over his son’s death.
“The risk of perpetuating an injustice by the State far outweighs the respondent’s desire to refuse disclosure,” they said.
“The respondent has not demonstrated any damage likely to arise from disclosure beyond generalised assertions concerning potential prejudice to the investigative process,” they added.
Through the lawsuit, Lochan is seeking a series of declarations over the handling of the request. He is seeking an order compelling disclosure or that the matter be remitted to the TTPS for reconsideration.
A case management conference in the case is scheduled for September 4.
