Trinidad: Christopher Samaroo hospitalised in custody after falling ill during police detention

Trinidad and Tobago: Christopher Samaroo, the father of Joshua Samaroo, who was killed in a police-shooting in January, was admitted to the Port of Spain General Hospital on Friday, June 26 after he complained of feeling unwell while he was in police custody.

According to sources, he was rushed to the hospital after he became ill and was reportedly diagnosed with a mild heart attack. He was admitted to the Accident and Emergency Department of Port-of-Spain General Hospital around 7:30 a.m. 

Reportedly, Samaroo would likely receive station bail after being discharged from the hospital. Attorney Aaron Lewis and Attorney Criston Williams, who are representing Samaroo, sent an email to Police Commissioner Allister Guevaroo, and expressed concerns about Samaroo’s physical and mental health.

The attorneys requested that Samaroo should be independently assessed by medical professionals. Williams explained that this has become necessary after the transformation Samaroo has gone through since January.

Williams also challenged the State, asking if any resources were offered to the Samaroo family to assist with counselling and long-term psycho-social care. He said except for Samaroo there are hundreds of people who are affected by such deaths and all of them need help from authorities to cope and move forward.

Samaroo was detained on Monday and has been in police custody since then. He was detained due to the remarks that he made in a radio interview on Father’s Day special Eye on Dependency programme.

Samaroo’s son, Joshua Samaroo, was fatally shot by police on January 20,2026, after a high-speed chase which ended in a crash. Joshua’s common wife, Kaia Sealy, was also shot but survived fortunately, and suffered serious injuries.

He was talking about the police killing of his son in the programme. As per sources, he said, “Left it up to me I will just get a gun and every policeman I see I will kill them." This remark led to a widespread controversy. Following this, the police launched an investigation under the Regulation 11 of the Emergency Powers Regulation and detained Samaroo on Monday.

Sealy, the mother of the couple’s five-year-old daughter was charged with three counts of shooting with intent to cause bodily harm to police officers, one charge of manslaughter, as well as possession of firearm and ammunition.

She was granted $700,000 bail during a virtual court appearance on June 18. She left the country on June 24 to continue her treatment abroad.