‘We are not criminals’: Silver Stars accuses police of assault as TTPS lays charges against five after Savannah brawl

Silver Stars Steel Orchestra has strongly rejected the TTPS’s account of the chaotic confrontation at the TRIBE Launch Cup 2026, insisting its members were the victims of excessive force and not the aggressors.

In a statement issued on Tuesday July 7th, the band said it was speaking out to “bring clarity” to the incident, declaring, “We are not criminals. We are professional musicians and ambassadors of the National Instrument of Trinidad and Tobago.”

The response comes hours after the TTPS announced that five people had been charged following the altercation at the Queen’s Park Savannah during the early hours of Sunday July 5th, 2026. According to police, officers were enforcing the conditions of the event’s entertainment licence, which required amplified music to end at 2 a.m., when several individuals allegedly became confrontational.

Police said one officer was assaulted while attempting to make a lawful arrest, resulting in charges including disorderly behaviour, obscene language, resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer.

However, Silver Stars has disputed that version of events.
The band said it had originally been scheduled to perform earlier in the programme but, because of delays, was asked to perform at the end of the event. It maintained that members were never informed of any permit restrictions or licensing issues.

According to the orchestra, moments after it began performing, police officers approached members of the rhythm section and ordered them to stop. The band alleged that an officer grabbed the drummer’s hands to prevent him from playing and that a man in plain clothes, later believed to be a police officer, threw one of the band’s instruments to the ground.

Silver Stars further claimed that when one musician bent down to retrieve the instrument, he was attacked by the unidentified man before other officers joined in. The band alleged that several steelpans and stands were knocked over during the confrontation, trapping musicians underneath and causing injuries to players as well as significant damage to instruments.

The orchestra insisted its members did not assault anyone or refuse to comply with instructions.

Silver Stars argued that the incident stemmed from a misunderstanding over the event’s permit and said the matter should have been addressed with event organisers or the band’s management rather than the musicians on stage.

The matter remains under investigation, and the five accused have been granted station bail and are expected to appear before the court on a date yet to be announced, the TTPS said in its earlier statement.

Both the TTPS and Silver Stars have now publicly presented sharply differing accounts of the confrontation.— Story by I.A.N News

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