On a yearly Labour Day march held through the streets of Fyzabad, a prominent Trinidadian justice advocate who has drawn public attention to a fatal police-involved shooting was taken into custody by riot-clad officers mid-proceeding, sparking sharp condemnation from labor leaders and opposition political figures.
Alyssa Phillip, who has organized more than a dozen public demonstrations and vigils calling for accountability and transparency over the January 2025 shooting that left Joshua Samaroo dead and her friend Kaia Sealy injured, was detained around noon on Monday. The encounter unfolded just hours after Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro was photographed publicly greeting Phillip at the Avocat Junction starting point of the march.
Officials from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) did not immediately release details surrounding the basis for Phillip’s arrest. Eyewitness accounts confirm that at least two dozen officers surrounded both Phillip and her mother, Camille Caresquero, before escorting the pair to a police vehicle. As Phillip was placed into the vehicle, onlookers shouted cries of protest, labeling the arrest “shameful” and a display of institutional overreach.
This arrest marks the second time Phillip has been taken into custody in connection with her advocacy work. Last month, Phillip and Caresquero were arrested during a demonstration outside the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Port of Spain, where activists gathered to oppose the decision to charge Sealy with manslaughter and firearms offenses linked to Samaroo’s death. Sealy, who had received medical treatment overseas for her gunshot wounds, returned to Trinidad to face the charges. Both women pleaded not guilty to charges of disorderly conduct and violating Section 11(A) of the Emergency Powers Regulations during a Port of Spain Magistrates’ Court hearing earlier this month, and were granted reduced bail.
As of Monday evening, no new charges had been filed against Phillip following the Fyzabad arrest. Local media outlet the Express reports that Phillip told officers she felt unwell after being taken to Fyzabad Police Station, and was subsequently transferred to the Siparia District Health Facility for medical evaluation.
Michael Annisette, general secretary of the National Trade Union Centre (NATUC) and president of the Seamen and Waterfront Workers Trade Union, delivered a blistering rebuke of the arrest to the gathered crowd at Charlie King Junction. Annisette, who was present during the detainment, said “The only crime that she has committed is not a crime, is that she stood up in defence of something she believed in. And if you cannot stand up for what you believe in in this society, then crapaud smoke your pipe.”
He further noted the striking irony of the arrest: “What was ironic to me was that in 2026 someone who stood up for her right, is deemed to be a target of the police. There was no reason; she was doing nothing wrong, she was celebrating, like all workers, Labour Day.” Annisette added that when he approached officers to ask for an explanation of the arrest, he was turned away and told the matter was not his business.
“Today is a sad day for me, as a father, and citizen of T&T to realise that in 2026, we have a police force, who believes that we are still living in the colonial past and therefore they can disrespect a young lady,” Annisette said. “I say to those police officers, ‘time longer than twine’.”
Annisette also claimed that his own daughter was physically pushed aside by TTPS officers to clear the way for Phillip’s arrest, saying “almost 35 police, about two or three of them pushed her aside, then surrounded the young lady who was marching with me. That young lady fearlessly protested the shooting of the young man.”
He called on Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and government officials, who were in attendance at the Labour Day march, to intervene immediately to secure Phillip’s release. “When we voted, we voted for change. The change must be substantial, material, worker-centred and people-centred. We cannot, honourable Prime Minister, live in a society where the police can do whatever they feel,” he said.
David Abdulah, political leader of the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ), echoed Annisette’s calls for clarity, questioning the legal foundation for Phillip’s arrest. “We need to know why she was arrested,” Abdulah stated. “If this were a peaceful march, then there must be a clear explanation for her detention.”
Abdulah emphasized that Phillip and her group remained fully peaceful throughout the march, framing the arrest as a deliberate act of institutional retaliation. “This is a straight case of attempting to intimidate and harass Phillip because she is fearless. The police are scared of her for standing up for justice and speaking out for what she perceives to be wrong in this country,” he said.
Despite the incident, official Labour Day observances continued through the rest of the day as scheduled.