PORT-AU-PRINCE — The National Union of Haitian Police Officers has confirmed the death of three police officers said to have been killed by the “Ti Makak” gang in a Pétion-Ville in an ambush on Easter Sunday. Their killing brings to 24 the number of police officers slain since 2023 started.
The officers killed have been identified as Pierre Paul Junior Dorcely, 28th promotion of the National Police of Haiti (PNH), Robenson Nicolas, 25th promotion and Medèze Fortilien, 26th promotion, reports the SYNAPOHA union on Twitter.
“We deplore these barbaric acts,” Prime Minister Ariel Henry said after the tragedy. “We are not insensitive to this situation and we are working hard to find a lasting solution.”
“We renew to the Haitian people our unshakeable determination to do everything to achieve the creation of a climate of security and stability in the country that is too bruised and bereaved,” added the Prime Minister on his Facebook page.
Early on April 9, PNH announced in a statement the deployment of police patrols in Thomassin, a neighborhood of Pétion-Ville. Police officers were on the ground, along with heavy machinery.
PNH spokesperson Gary Desrosiers told Le Nouvelliste that the officers were on routine vehicle patrol meant to strengthen police presence in the Laboule 12 and Thomassin areas. Two gangs — “Kraze Baryè” led by gang leader Vitélhomme Innocent and that of Laboule 12 led by Carlo Petit-Homme alias “Ti Makak” — are said to rule those locations.
Dorcely, Nicolas and Fortilien were in a police vehicle carrying seven officers that Sunday morning when it came under fire suddenly, with bandits shooting down from a higher point, said Desrosiers.
In January, the Kraze Baryè gang also killed four police officers in an ambush in the town, police have said. The Director General of the PNH, Frantz Elbé, then launched Operation Tornado 1 to track down bandits, particularly those operating in Pétion-Ville. Elbé said fighting organized crime is a priority and that all heads of police structures were instructed to do everything possible to fight bandits relentlessly.
Still, armed gangs continue to commit their crimes. Whether they are members of the civilian population or law enforcement officers, no one is spared from gang violence. A week does not pass without a case of homicide or kidnapping being reported in the country.
The latest available figures on gang violence show 195 people killed by gunfire in the month of March alone. Among the victims are 10 women, six girls, four boys, a newborn, three policemen, a soldier and a student, according to the Organization Citizens for a New Haiti (OCNH). For the first three months of the year, the United Nations recorded 531 people killed and 300 injured.
As for kidnappings, the Center for Analysis of Research in Human Rights (CARDH) reported that for the first three months of the year, 389 people were abducted. The figure is 173% than in 2021 and 72% higher than 2022 for the same period. That is, 141 kidnappings in 2021 and 225 in 2022.
Among the abducted in 2023 are 29 foreign nationals, such as Florida couple Jean-Dickens Toussaint and Abigail Michael Toussaint, whose kidnapping went viral last week.
Faced with these latest deaths, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) says it wants to reassure the National Police of Haiti, mourners and the general public that it is working with leaders of PNH to bring back law and order.
“The MJSP mourns and deplores the death of three police officers, three servants of society,” Minister of Justice Emmelie Prophet Milcé in a statement. “The MJSP asks the population to show lucidity and solidarity with the Police so that the crimes of the bandits cease and so that the country can enjoy a lasting climate of peace and security.”
