An independent police oversight agency has moved forward with formal disciplinary referrals for four separate allegations of police misconduct, most tied to allegations of gross neglect of duty during ongoing and high-stakes criminal investigations. The Police Complaints Authority (PCA), which oversees allegations of wrongdoing among law enforcement officers, announced the referrals alongside the public release of its quarterly disciplinary referral summary covering the first part of the April–June 2026 reporting period, published across the agency’s official social media channels.
PCA Director David West confirmed in an interview with local outlet Express that the bulk of the latest batch of referrals center on claims that officers failed to fulfill their core law enforcement duties. Following the authority’s investigative recommendations, West noted, senior police leadership typically follows through on review, and disciplinary action is delivered against officers in found in violation of department rules in a subset of cases.
To protect the privacy of parties involved while cases remain pending outside of court proceedings, all complainants and responding officers are referenced only by pseudonyms in the public summary.
The first case under referral stems from a 2024 reported assault where a complainant, identified only as Mr X, alleges he was attacked by an individual wielding a cutlass, sustaining three chop wounds to the head and significant damage to his personal vehicle. Mr X told investigators he visited the local police station more than 10 times to push for progress on his case, but no official action was ever taken. A log entry in the station’s official diary confirms two officers responded to the initial report, and a specific assigned officer (named only as Officer A) was appointed to lead the investigation. The PCA reached out multiple times to the local Senior Superintendent’s office to request updates on the case, but received no reply, even after escalating the inquiry directly to the Office of the Commissioner of Police. When the PCA sent formal correspondence to Officer A directly in October 2025, the officer also failed to respond. A search of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service’s Versadex database returned no records related to the incident, prompting the authority to refer the matter for disciplinary review.
The second referral involves mishandling of another assault with wounding reported at the Chaguanas Police Station in March 2024. Complainant Ms A told investigators she was chased by an individual identified as Mr B, who threw a bucket of water at her before striking her in the face with the bucket. Ms A followed officer instructions to obtain a medical evaluation, which confirmed she had suffered a soft tissue injury from the attack. Corporal C told the PCA he had assigned Constable D to conduct the investigation and submit a formal progress report. But when questioned by the oversight body, Constable D denied ever receiving the assignment. The PCA found no documentary evidence to back up Corporal C’s claim of an assignment – no records of when the task was assigned, what specific instructions were delivered, or any confirmation the task was accepted. This lack of progress and documentation led the authority to conclude neglect of duty may have occurred, resulting in a disciplinary referral.
The third and most serious of the four cases involves the stalled investigation of a sexual offense against a 14-year-old minor. The girl’s mother first reported the abuse in March 2020, after finding incriminating messages on her daughter’s tablet. Weeks later, she discovered her daughter was pregnant, and the minor identified a man named Mr Z as the father, alleging he had given the teen money and threatened her to stay silent about the abuse. Statements were collected from the victim, her mother, and other witnesses, and Sergeant A was assigned as the lead investigator on the case. A progress report filed by Sergeant A in September 2024 claimed the investigation was still active. But repeated follow-ups by the PCA found no evidence of any meaningful investigative work having been completed over the multi-year period of the probe. When Sergeant A was questioned under formal caution in November 2025 and ordered to turn over his complete investigative file, he failed to produce the document. The authority said the lack of a complete case file and years of apparent inaction in a child sexual abuse case raised severe red flags about the handling of the investigation, leading to a neglect of duty referral for Sergeant A.
The final referral involves an incident of unlawful trespass and search, where officers executed a search warrant at the wrong address. The complainant reported that in March 2024, officers arrived at her home shortly after midnight, claiming they were searching for an individual named “Stevie” and demanded entry. The officers said they held a valid search warrant before forcing their way onto her property. The PCA’s investigation confirmed the warrant officers held only authorized a search of address No. 5925 for firearms and ammunition – the complainant lived at the adjacent address, No. 5924, which was never named or described in the warrant, and there was no evidence connecting the complainant or her home to the investigation that prompted the search.