Dad begs for answers as mentally ill son killed by police

Senior Multimedia Reporter

radhica.sookraj@guardian.co.tt

Retired bus driver Cleophas Noel held his head in his hands, his body shaking with sobs as he remembered how he could not save his son, Elijah Noel, from being shot dead by the police.

Elijah, 20, was shot multiple times as he ran down the street begging for help after experiencing a mental health episode near their Glenroy Settlement, Princes Town home.

“He was faster than me,” Noel said, his voice cracking. “If I had got out of there in time, I would have told them what to do, because he needed help.” He described his son as loving and helpful. Recalling the incident, Noel said Elijah had been washing his sneakers and cleaning up around the house when he started holding his head and screaming, “I can’t take this anymore.” Noel said his son started to bawl, and despite being barefoot, he started running down an incline towards the M1 Ring Road, with Noel running after him.

“I wanted to tell people he was not well. This happens sometimes. Then I heard rapid gunshots. When I reached there, my son was dead. His eyes were moving, and his chest was moving. He had a shot in his neck, chest, and back,” the retiree sobbed.

Noel, describing the moment he saw his son’s lifeless body, said, “My son was crying for help, and they killed him.” Noel said one officer seemed more concerned about damage to a car mirror that Elijah had caused.

“You killed my son for a mirror? I asked them, but I got no reply from them.”He remembered begging the officers to take Elijah to the hospital but was told they had already called an ambulance.

“What hurt me most was when a police jeep came up and reversed in. Two police officers came out, and one grabbed his hands, another grabbed his feet, and they swung him and threw him in the van. You ever ride in that? It would beat you up. They say the usual thing, that he died on arrival,” Noel said.

He explained that Elijah had struggled with mental health for some time, but he was taking medication. “He used to get these attacks a few times before, but it got worse. He hurt himself twice before. He wanted it to stop, but it couldn’t, so he preferred to die,” Noel recalled.

“He was using medication, and it was working well until yesterday. He had taken his medicine.”

He described his son as a good kid. “If I cooked, he would take care of the dishes. He was not a vagrant on the road. He was my son, he was loved. He didn’t have to die that way.” Noel said he would continue to seek justice for his son’s death. “I want to see justice, but what justice will you get from police in this country? It’s a rare thing to see,” he said.

“He never hurt anybody. If he advanced on the officer, she didn’t have to use lethal force. You could have shot his legs. But no, you hit a kill shot.” Noel also shared memories of Elijah’s past. “His first attack was in Princes Town No 2 school, but when he was in secondary school, he had no attacks,” Noel said. He would have been 21 on December 17.

Noel said he will continue to fight for his son’s justice. “That boy was loved,” Noel said. “He didn’t have to die.”

Meanwhile, police said in a statement that the incident occurred around 1:30 pm, while officers were on escort duty along Buen Intento Road, Princes Town. Officers were alerted by a woman who sought their assistance, saying the suspect had caused damage to her vehicle.

The police said Elijah advanced menacingly toward the officers, and after a struggle, the officers fired two shots, which led to Elijah’s death.

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