Romelson Vilcin was killed after a tear gas canister fired by police struck him on the head on October 30, 2022. Vilcin was among a dozen journalists gathered outside the Delmas 33 police substation in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, to call for the release of detained journalist Robest Dimanche.
The police beat and fired tear gas at the protesters, including Vilcin, as they tried to enter the station. CPJ was unable to determine whether Vilcin was reporting on the demonstration or participating in it.
Another journalist present, Raynald Petit-Frère, president of the Haitian Online Media Collective (CMEL), a local journalists’ union, was quoted as telling the online outlet Netalkole that he heard the canister hit Vilcin and saw the journalist fall to the ground. After two hours, police took Vilcin to a hospital, where he died shortly after, Petit-Frère said.
Vilcin was a freelance correspondent for Radio Génération 80, based in the northwestern city of Port-de-Paix, and also worked with independent online outlets JIM Studio and Zenyez TV.
At least five other journalists were injured by the police during the protest, and several had their equipment confiscated, Jacques Desrosiers, secretary-general of the Association of Haitian Journalists, told CPJ via messaging app.
In an October 30 letter, the police Director General Frantz Elbé offered his condolences for Vilcin’s death “due to injuries caused by a tear gas canister” while police were controlling a “hostile crowd” entering the station and promised an investigation.
Haiti’s government information portal said in a thread on the social platform X that it “deplores the tragedy” and expressed confidence that an investigation would “determine the circumstances in order to identify and prosecute the perpetrator or perpetrators of this regrettable act.”
An investigation by the police Inspector General’s office found Vilcin’s death was the result of police misconduct and recommended sanctions.
On October 27, 2023, Chief Inspector General Fritz Saint Fort told CPJ via messaging app that the officer involved was suspended on unpaid leave for three months and his office had also recommended that law enforcement receive training to be “more professional and respectful” in their dealings with citizens.