Shane Superville
Senior Reporter
shane.superville@guardian.co.tt
Former prisons commissioner Gerard Wilson says last week’s threat against Deputy Prisons Commissioner Carlos Corraspe was intended to remind Corraspe of the power gangs wield in and out of prison while warning him not to test their mettle when he assumes office.
Last Friday, the video including the threat and Corraspe’s name written on a piece of paper went viral on social media.
Beneath Corraspe’s name were the words, ‘Don’t Play’. The paper was surrounded by three assault rifles. The video, currently being viewed by the police Cyber Crime Unit, prompted a high-level intelligence briefing involving different units shortly after it surfaced.
The threat is believed to have originated from the Sixx gang.
Contacted for comment, Corraspe said he was unable to speak publicly without the permission of Prisons Commissioner Deopersad Ramoutar. Corraspe is expected to succeed Ramoutar as Prisons Commissioner when he retires on Wednesday after serving for 36 years.
“The fact that there’s a new commissioner coming, they will try to intimidate him in all forms and fashion. It is just a way of sending a message to the incoming commissioner because they don’t know how he’s going to operate, or how he’s going to perform. It’s just an intimidatory tactic, they warn you one time not to come with any strong-arm tactics,” Wilson told Guardian Media last week.
Police said they also suspected the threat was only intended as a “show of force,” rather than a warning of an impending threat. One officer said despite their influence behind bars, criminals did not want to give away the element of surprise in their attacks. “They (criminals) don’t typically announce their actions beforehand.
“Based on data, the targeting of prison officers usually happens after some instance of violence in the prison, this hasn’t happened, but the threat is still cause for prison officers to be on alert.” Wilson, who served as commissioner between 2017 and 2021, has led the prison service during a period where threats against prison officers were widely reported.
During his tenure in August 2019, a series of threatening messages on social media calling on gang members to kill “any two prison officers” were posted. Asked if he had any advice for Corraspe as a former commissioner, Wilson urged him to be patient in what policies and measures he hoped to implement.
“It will take him about two or three weeks to settle down and then build the confidence to continue. The public will be coming at you, officers will be coming at you to see how you are operating, and the inmates will be coming at you to test you out. Take baby steps, you can’t just come in and change everything overnight.”
Wilson also urged prison officers to carry out their duties without fear but with fairness in mind towards inmates.
Officers are easy targets for criminals
While he was reluctant to describe prison officers as being “sitting ducks” to violent gangs, Wilson admitted that prison officers were particularly vulnerable to attacks when compared to other branches of the protective services. Wilson said while a career in any branch of law enforcement has its risks, criminals appeared to be more hesitant in targeting police officers or members of the defence force as the consequences could be severe.
“The elements don’t think that way for prison officers. We are the easiest targets because they think, ‘What can you do to me?’ The police can arrest and charge someone, but the prison officer has to live with them for a number of years.”
Shortly before the threat against Corraspe appeared online, police were also threatened by members of the Resistance Gang. The threat was made via a WhatsApp voice note after four men believed to be members of the gang were killed by police in Upper St Michael’s Road off St John’s Road, St Augustine.
However, one officer in the police Gang Intelligence Unit (GIU), said there was no credible information to suggest police were under serious threat. He said while police officers were advised to be on alert, the threat against Corraspe was considered a “higher priority” given the number of prison officers murdered over the years.
“There is a legitimate reason to plan and have certain exercises in place to prepare when any prison officer is being threatened. This isn’t to say that the police are not exposed to certain threats, when you compare the number of police officers killed with the number of prison officers killed, the issue is clear.”
Referring to an attack at the Barataria home of Deputy Commissioner of Prisons Sherwin Bruce in October 2023, the officer said even senior prison officers with assigned security could be targeted by criminals. Bruce was unharmed in last year’s attack, but his driver, Steve Phipps, was shot.
A police source reported that the key to removing the influence and power of gangs lay in clamping down on unregulated communication, particularly through cellphone use. However, a 2023 report noted that even with the installation of cellphone jammers, it was still possible for phone calls to be made and attacks co-ordinated.
Prison officers murdered
• In January 2024, Kendell Smith, 36, was gunned down in Samaroo Village, Arima.
• November 27, 2021, Trevor Serrette, 48, was killed at a produce stall in Valencia.
• Days later, on November 29, 2021, Nigel Jones was gunned down in the presence of his three-year-old daughter in Siparia.
• In September 2020, Sherwin Francis, 48, was gunned down at his Oasis Greens, Chaguanas, home.
• On October 5, 2020, Stephen Richardson, 28, was shot and killed in Third Company, Princes Town.
• October 8, 2020: Joel Ramsoondar, 30, was fatally shot outside his Indian Walk, Princes Town home.
• On January 28, 2018, prison officer II Devendra Boodooram was gunned down as he drove out of the Frederick Street Remand Yard.
• In October 2018, Supt Wayne Jackson was shot and killed at his Malabar home.
• On October 17, 2018, Darren Francis was killed at Hindustan Village in Princes Town.
• On October 8, 2017, Richard Sandy was shot dead at a bar in south Trinidad.
• October 26, 2017, Glenford Gardner was killed at Sea Trace, Bagatelle, Diego Martin.
• In February 2016, Fitzalbert Victor, 32, was shot and killed as he washed his car outside his Prizgar Lands, Laventille, home.
• July 17, 2015: Andell Primus, 27, shot and killed in Morvant.
• In November 2015, Supt David Millette was killed while sitting in his car near his Second Caledonia, Morvant, home.
• In July 2015, Andell Primus was shot dead in Red Hill, Morvant, and pulled out of his vehicle. • In June 2014, Dominique Bernard, 37, was murdered at his girlfriend's Claxton Bay home.
• November 7, 2013, Andy Rogers, 42, was shot and killed at his Malabar, Arima, home.
• August 21, 2010: Reynard Parris, 21, dies at EWMSC after being shot in Malabar.
• July 6, 2010, prison officer Marvin Diaz, 35, was gunned down while leaving a club in Gasparillo Junction with friends.
• June 10, 2010: Eric Simmons, 53, shot dead in Laventille.
• March 28, 2010: Bernard Thomas, 36, shot dead in Toco.
• January 23, 2010: Nataki Halloway, 32, strangled in Gasparillo.
• November 7, 2009: Ian Seegobin, 35, shot and killed in Arouca.
• June 18, 2008: Anim Joseph, 31, shot dead in St Joseph.
• March 17, 2005: Anslem Paul, 49, shot dead in Laventille.
• May 4, 2003: Winston Sandy, 35, shot dead in Laventille.
• December 12, 2001: Atwell Sandy, 32, shot dead in Cascade.
• February 25, 1998: Junior Holder, 51, killed in Chaguaramas.
• August 14, 1993: Prisons Commissioner Michael Hercules, 58, was shot and killed in Barataria.
• April 7, 1990: Jaichan Goolcharan, 42, was killed by an inmate while on duty.