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T&T Man arrested for not helping police officer

Following the arrest of Careem James for allegedly failing to help police officers apprehend a suspect, one member of the legal fraternity says police may have acted illegally. Speaking on today’s edition of CNC3’s The Morning Brew show, attorney-at-law Martin George argues that James may not have committed an arrestable offence. “An arrestable offence is one for which you could be in prison for a term of five years, at least,” George explains.  “Under Section 60 of the Police Service Act, the law speaks to the penalty for this [offence] is imprisonment for up to one year.  Then this does not come under the definition of an arrestable offence.”

“Did they have a warrant when they went back to arrest this man?  Because if they did not have a warrant, that creates another issue, because basically the arrest may have been illegal,” he asserts. Geoge believes that James may have had good reason behind his decision to not render assistance, given the current crime-ridden climate in the country.

“In the current scenario of Trinidad and Tobago, one could ask oneself why someone would willingly want to expose themselves to the danger or risk of possibly also being assaulted by the person whom the police is trying to arrest, or exposing themselves to the risk of reprisal,” Martin George points out.  “The situation in the society is such that one can understand the hesitation, the reluctance and the fear that an ordinary citizen would have in terms of jumping in [to help].”Maxi-taxi driver Careem James was arrested Tuesday, July 16.