On a recent day in Port of Spain, a group of demonstrators assembled outside the city’s Police Administration Building to voice public support for local figure Kaia Sealy, in a move that bypassed established regulatory procedures for public demonstrations. Senior law enforcement official Senior Superintendent Raymond Thom later confirmed that no formal notification or approval application had been submitted to the Commissioner of Police ahead of the gathering, a required step under current regional regulations.
Trinidad and Tobago currently operates under a declared state of emergency, which brings with it adjusted public order rules that grant expanded authority to law enforcement agencies. When reached for comment on the demonstration, Deputy Commissioner of Police Suzette Martin clarified that small, non-disruptive groups of people gathering in public do not automatically violate existing legislation. Even so, Martin stressed that formal advance approval remains a mandatory legal step for any organized public gathering of this nature.
In an official media statement released later the same day, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) laid out its formal position on the incident and the broader regulatory framework governing protest activity under the ongoing state of emergency. The TTPS confirmed that while peaceful protest is not explicitly banned by the current state of emergency declaration, all public assemblies are required to adhere fully to the provisions laid out in the Emergency Powers Regulations 2026.
Acknowledging the demonstrators’ presence outside the Police Administration Building, the statement detailed the law enforcement response to the unauthorized gathering: “In this instance, officers engaged the individuals present and issued clear, lawful instructions in accordance with the Emergency Powers Regulations. The decision to disperse the gathering was based on assessed concerns relating to public safety and the maintenance of public order.”
The TTPS underlined that it carries a binding statutory obligation to protect public safety and uphold civic order across the country. “Where any gathering presents a potential risk to either, officers are duly empowered to take appropriate and proportionate action, including the lawful dispersal of such assemblies,” the statement added.
The official release also walked the public through the full scope of powers granted to police under the current emergency regulations, noting that the legislation grants law enforcement broad latitude to regulate, restrict, or break up public assemblies when conditions demand such action. Per the regulations, the Commissioner of Police holds the authority to limit individual association and communication, block public access to specific geographic areas, and designate sensitive sites as “protected places.” Unauthorized entry into these protected zones counts as a criminal offense, and police are legally permitted to search or remove any unauthorised individuals from these locations.
Further provisions of the regulations expand police powers to stop, search, detain, and arrest individuals without requiring a prior warrant, as long as officers hold reasonable suspicion that the individual’s actions could put public safety at risk. The TTPS also noted that public speech, organizing work, or advocacy connected to unapproved protests can be classified as criminal offenses if those activities are judged to influence public opinion in a way that undermines public safety.
The TTPS reiterated that all protest activity, especially demonstrations held near police facilities and other sensitive infrastructure, must be carried out in full compliance with existing public order laws and state of emergency rules. It also issued a formal warning about the consequences of violating the Emergency Powers Regulations: breaches can result in fines reaching $100,000 and prison sentences of up to five years.
The current regulatory framework governing the state of emergency is formally established under the Emergency Powers Regulations, 2026 (Legal Notice No. 40 of 2026), which was enacted to support the ongoing state of emergency declaration currently in effect across the country.