Rishard Khan

While relatives and the public may be pointing fingers at the police for what they believe is its failure to treat with a mentally-ill Freeport man days before he brutally murdered a relative, T&T Police Service Social and Welfare Association (TTPSSWA) head Gideon Dickson is highlighting that officers are not trained to deal with such situations.

"Our training isn't and hasn't been expanded to deal with the mentally-ill at this point in time. That is the straight and direct answer.

"We often have to engage other authorities to act and we provide some sort of support to those persons."

On Sunday, Deodath Gopie, 58, was murdered in his sleep by a mentally-ill suspect who was a former patient of St Ann's.

Gopie's sister-in-law, Lisa Ramlal, told Newsday that the police failed to arrest or take the suspect for treatment last Thursday after he went on a rampage, attacking Gopie and his wife.

A senior police official told Newsday that, on Thursday, an ambulance went to the home to pick up the mentally-ill person.

Officers assisted, and he willingly went into the ambulance to be taken away, however, he refused when the attendants attempted to bind his hands.

The official claimed attendants then decided that if the relative did not want to go with them, he would have to sign a waiver document, which he did. The official said the attendant refused to take the relative after the waiver was signed.

The senior police official claimed the suspect was not violent at that time and the officers could not force him to go into the ambulance.

Asked if it was in keeping with police protocols for a mentaly-ill person's wishes to be respected given the circumstances, the official said that was a question for the ambulance service to answer.

On Monday, Dickson said officers could only refer to their use-of-force policy in those situations.

However, he noted, the policy was designed for use against people who were of "normal or level mind and sound judgment."

He said, if the officers had to deal with a mentally-ill person, they would ask for help from family members, officials from the district's psychiatric attendants service or emergency health services.

"The police don't do the moving at all. The police presence is to ensure that there is no breach to the peace and no one is harmed or injured in the process."

While officers may not be trained in handling these situations, Dickson was doubtful how much of a difference it would make in their response to incidents.

He said it would be difficult for officers to reason with the mentally-ill person and might need to resort to using non-lethal force to subdue them if they became a threat.

"You'd hear people speaking as to the humanitarian aspect – you know the man (is mentally ill), the police wicked – it's damned if you do, damned if you don't (for the police)."

In April 2018, police shot and killed mentally-ill Colin Roopchand, 26, in La Romain after he attacked his mother and allegedly threatened them with a knife.

In July 2018, poli