The family of a 41-year-old New Grant, Trinidad resident who was fatally shot by law enforcement officers over the weekend is publicly challenging the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS)’s official narrative of the deadly encounter, alleging excessive force and misrepresentation of the victim’s character. Timmion Francois, a long-time permanent employee of the Ministry of Works with nearly 20 years of unblemished service, was killed during a police operation at his Naggee Road, Hindustan home on Sunday. According to the TTPS’s official media statement, the law enforcement team arrived at Francois’s residence shortly after 10:15 a.m. that day to follow up on a reported home invasion in Indian Walk the previous day. The alleged victim of that prior incident, a 41-year-old woman, had told officers that an armed suspect wielding a cutlass had unlawfully entered her home and physically assaulted her. Police claimed that after identifying themselves upon arrival at Francois’s property, they spotted the suspect holding a cutlass, who then became uncooperative and aggressive, ignored repeated verbal orders to drop his weapon, and advanced toward the officers while brandishing the blade. Fearing for their immediate personal safety, the officers discharged their service firearms, striking Francois, per the TTPS account. Though emergency responders transported Francois to a nearby medical facility for urgent care, he was pronounced dead a short time later. Speaking exclusively to local outlet the Express one day after the shooting, Francois’s younger brother Damion Francois pushed back hard against every element of the official police narrative, insisting his sibling had no criminal record whatsoever. He explained that Francois was a well-liked community member who regularly helped neighbors repair household items, and had been preparing food for a local Divali celebration earlier that morning, with a visitor dropping off funds for him to buy roti followed by another resident bringing a weed cutter for him to fix. Damion alleged that three uniformed officers forced their way into the home by kicking in the front door without warning, and shot Francois without provocation before placing him in a police van to transport him for care. He also noted that Francois was well acquainted with the homeowner at the site of the alleged prior home invasion, and often visited that property freely. Francois’s brother-in-law Hayden Rampersad echoed the family’s outrage, questioning the logical plausibility of the official police claim that Francois would voluntarily advance on three officers each armed with both a handgun and a rifle while carrying only a single cutlass. The two men emphasized that no rational person would initiate such a confrontation, and accused authorities of framing Francois as a dangerous home invader to justify the fatal shooting. The entire Francois family is now formally calling for a full, transparent, independent probe into the incident, and has filed an appeal to the national Police Complaints Authority to step in and oversee the investigation to ensure accountability for any misconduct.