Overview:
PNH officer Josué Saintina died Nov. 17 after being shot throughout a conflict with gangs in Arcahaie, with police saying he was too unstable for an airlift to the capital. His loss of life is the fifth police killing this month, underscoring delays in emergency care as Haiti’s safety disaster worsens.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Haitian Nationwide Police (PNH) officer Josué Saintina died Monday after being shot within the head throughout a conflict with armed teams in Labodrie, Arcahaie — a loss of life his colleagues say might have been prevented if he had been airlifted to a hospital in Port-au-Prince.
In an announcement Tuesday, PNH officers mentioned Saintina had fallen right into a coma shortly after the capturing and was deemed “too unstable” for air evacuation aboard the police ambulance helicopter — regardless of pressing calls from officers on the scene. As a substitute, he obtained intensive care at a neighborhood hospital, the place docs had been unable to stabilize him.
However the police union disputes that account, arguing that well timed transport to the capital — simply 20 to 30 miles away — might have saved his life.
“The police failed him,” mentioned Mathieux Sidel, spokesperson for the Nationwide Union of Haitian Police Officers (SYNAPOHA). “This depends upon the affect of the accountable officer and the way rapidly they act to stop a policeman from succumbing to their accidents.”
The PNH vowed to “relentlessly monitor and convey to justice” these behind the assault, calling Saintina’s loss of life a reminder of the rising risks officers face as armed teams escalate violence throughout the nation.
Union says officers’ survival depends upon who their commander is
The Nationwide Union of Haitian Police Officers (SYNAPOHA) criticized authorities for his or her sluggish response and inconsistent assist for injured officers — a recurring situation inside a power strained by years of gang assaults, restricted assets and failing infrastructure.
“This depends upon the affect of the accountable officer and the way rapidly they act to stop a policeman from succumbing to their accidents,” SYNAPOHA spokesperson Mathieux Sidel informed The Haitian Instances. He referenced a Analysis and Intervention Brigade (BRI) officer injured in Lascahobas whose commander secured an tried switch to Santo Domingo — efforts that got here too late.
Saintina’s loss of life, he added, exhibits how inconsistent emergency protocols and unreliable air transport proceed to price lives.
A recurring tragedy in a collapsing safety system
This isn’t the primary time an officer has died as a result of lack of well timed emergency evacuation.
In Sept. 2024, SWAT officer Dorce Scudery died from a gunshot wound after docs in Fond-des-Blancs requested a helicopter switch that by no means arrived.
Haiti’s worsening safety collapse has left many roads underneath gang management and air transport unreliable. A number of police helicopters have been grounded or destroyed — together with one burned by officers final week in Croix-des-Bouquets to stop it from falling into gang palms — making crucial evacuation practically inconceivable.
5 officers have been killed to this point in November alone.
Richard Jean Louis and Saintina’s loss of life brings the whole variety of cops killed this month to 5:
- Josué Saintina, thirty fourth class — killed Nov. 17 in Arcahaie
- Richard Jean Louis, 22th class — killed Nov. 18 in Turgeau
- Angelot Jeanty, twenty fifth class — shot lifeless Nov. 15 in Delmas 33
- Unnamed officer, twenty eighth class — additionally killed Nov. 15 by unknown gunmen
- Wadley Jeune, thirty fourth class — died Nov. 14 after a shootout in Lascahobas
Three had been killed in direct clashes with gangs; two had been assassinated by unidentified shooters.
PNH intensifies offensive as gangs escalate nationwide—‘the police will now not wait’
The deaths come because the PNH shifts to a extra aggressive posture following weeks of gang assaults throughout Port-au-Prince and provincial cities. Since Nov. 5, police have carried out operations in opposition to the:
- 400 Mawozo and Chen Mechan gangs in Croix-des-Bouquets and Tabarre
- Jouma gang in Simon Pelé
- Canaan-affiliated teams in Mirebalais
- Legal networks downtown close to the Nationwide Palace
These operations have resulted in a number of gang deaths and the seizure of weapons and heavy tools.
On Nov. 16, gang chief Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier urged residents to remain off the streets, warning of confrontations with police. His threats shut down the capital by way of Nov. 18, with colleges, banks and companies closed and visitors severely restricted.
“PNH elite models had been deployed, felony strongholds destroyed, and criminals neutralized,” the police mentioned Tuesday.
Police Director Basic Vladimir Paraison reiterated that go away has been suspended and all personnel absolutely mobilized.
“The Police I now lead are now not in defensive mode,” Paraison mentioned. “We is not going to simply wait and defend our positions — it’s them who needs to be ready for us.”
As Haiti’s safety forces push deeper into gang-held territory with restricted assets and unreliable emergency assist, Saintina’s loss of life underscores the risks dealing with officers — and the human price of a state struggling to reply to a nationwide armed battle.