SIX police officers were in court charged with various offences yesterday, as the recent trend of officers appearing before the courts continued.

In the first incident, five constables attached to the Northern Division appeared before an Arima magistrate charged with a series of offences arising out of an incident which occurred on August 7 in the Maloney area, involving the arrest of a Special Reserve Police officer.

Constables Aaron McCleod, Edward Quashie, Francis, Nicholson and Lela were represented by Senior Counsel Israel Khan and attorney Ulric Skerritt.

PCs McCleod, Nicholson, Francis and Lela stood before the court charged with obscene language and assault occasioning in bodily harm, while Quashie was charged with perverting the course of justice by entering false information in a station diary.

Nicholson and Lela had appeared in the Port of Spain Magistrates’ Court before a Justice of the Peace on Thursday afternoon, and were granted $20,000 bail. However, that amount was reduced when all five officers appeared in court yesterday and were granted their own bail in the sum of $2,000. The matter was then adjourned to September 14.

In the other incident, Constable Dwayne Gabriel was granted $50,000 bail with surety yesterday, after he appeared in the Tunapuna Magistrates’ Court charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

Gabriel, an officer with six years service, is charged with allegedly killing 66-year-old Elizabeth Annan on November 20, last year.

Annan, of Pepper Village, Maracas, St Joseph, was struck when a Nissan AD Wagon slammed into her as she was walking along La Grind Road toward the Maracas Recreation Ground.

Gabriel was represented by Senior Counsel Israel Khan and attorney Ulric Skerritt.

During the hearing, Skerritt told Magistrate Ramraj Harripersad he was shocked that his client was charged after the deceased woman’s husband appeared on a radio programme stating his wife was murdered with a vehicle.

Skerritt said he was quite surprised that the office of the Commissioner of Police decided to lay charges without seeking the advice of the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The matter was then adjourned to September 11.