The search of a home in Tunapuna led to the death of a 23-year-old man who reportedly shot at police with an AK-47 assault rifle on Friday afternoon.
Police said officers of the North-Central Division Task Force visited the Dookie Street home of Dirrel Bullen, at around 3.10 pm to execute a search warrant.
Officers during the operation blocked off both access points on the street.
However, Bullen reportedly jumped from a window onto the roof of the house and shot at the officers. Bullen, according to officers then slid down a nearby water tank and continued to shoot at officers who took cover and returned fire hitting him.
Police took Bullen to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex where he was declared dead.
Police seized an AK-47 and three magazines at the scene. Sources said Bullen was well known to the police and was arrested and charged with various offences including robbery.
One officer said the search of Bullen's house was done in response to the wounding of a man in St Joseph on Friday morning. When Guardian Media visited the scene on Friday afternoon, investigators were still gathering evidence.
One relative who asked not to be named, disputed the official account of the incident given by police and said she felt Bullen was murdered and felt the officers could have apprehended him without killing him. "Right is right wrong is wrong.
"Shoot him in his foot, break his hand, break his foot, lock him up, but they murdering people.
"If he did something wrong but you all (police) trained to shoot.
"All those shots ring out for one person?"
The relative however acknowledged that she did not live in the area and was not around Bullen long enough to know if he was involved in crime.
She noted Bullen's brother, Josiah Ramsahai was also killed by police in 2016.
All police-involved shootings are investigated by a First Division Officer (FDO), that is an officer at the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) or above.