This is in response to Trevor Gore's letter (Express, February 27), venting over what I imagine was the inconvenience, frustration, vexation and the resultant lack of productivity that so many of our citizens experienced on Monday morning, as a result of the protest action by the residents of Sea Lots.

I must admit I have never endured any of this as a result of protest actions and, as such, am not in a position to empathise with him. I, however, sympathise with him. Nonetheless, I must point out that he has erred in stating the protest was as a result of the fatalities. He asked whether protests such as that one were provoked by any of the other weekly fatal road accidents since the beginning of 2013.

Mr Gore is being more than naive if he refuses to see the police reaction to the accident was more of a catalyst for the protests than the tragic event itself. The demonstrations were more against the injustice of the police securing one of their own rather than respecting all of the affected humans—those still alive as well as those who were, by that time, no longer among the living; it was more against the belief that evidence was being tampered with once again to protect their own while the injured remained unaided; it was more against the violence perpetrated against them in the form of rubber bullets and teargas. It was more against the blatant disrespect meted out to them and their dead and injured, the perpetuation of the societal prejudice that is their daily cross to bear, the prejudice that Mr Gore's letter exemplifies.

I hold no brief for the residents of Sea Lots, but I see them all as I see myself—a Trini, with all of the attendant rights of any other Trini from any other area, be it upscale, gated or hotspot. One of these inalienable rights is to fall under the ambit of the motto of the Police Service—"to protect and serve with pride". I do not condone their action, but I understand why they feel they had to resort to it. I'm not trying to justify it, but Mr Gore, your blame, to my mind, is misdirected. It should fall squarely on the shoulders of the police.

Do also note that Sea Lots and Beetham—the community to which your final paragraph applies—are not one and the same.

Jada Williams

Woodbrook