The police are capable

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Parent Category: Dec 2011

Category: Week ending Dec 31st, 2011

Published on Monday, 02 January 2012 18:43

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EDITORIAL

The presence of one swallow in these parts does not make a winter. So too one unfortunate incident involving some officers attached to the St. David’s Police Station and Oscar Bartholomew should not be construed to mean that the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) are comprised of rogue cops who like to beat and brutalise people.

Let us not judge the members of our police force because of this ugly incident which is causing great pain not only to the family members who lost a loved one but also Grenadians on the whole who feel the pain of the St. David’s Police Station tragedy.

THE NEW TODAY is confident that the police force can do a thorough investigation into the incident along with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and come up with the appropriate and necessary action in the circumstances.

There is no need to look at bringing into the country any foreign person to investigate this matter, which has attracted attention throughout the nation. Our officers are more than competent to do the necessary investigation as swiftly as possible given their experience and track record.

The local Police Force is recognised not only in the region but also in the wider world as one with an enviable track record in helping to make Grenada a safe place by its record in solving crimes. THE NEW TODAY is aware that many other Police Commissioners in the Caribbean often ask our police officers what is being done in the Spice Isle to keep the island such a safe haven.

Our country is low on crimes when compared with other neighbouring islands such as Barbados, Trinidad, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Granadines and St. Kitts/Nevis. This is something that all Grenadians should cherish. The Community Policing programme has played a great part in cementing the bonds of friendship that exist between our men and women in uniform and the civilian population.

The police have sought to bring the force much closer to the people with its keep-fit programme attended mainly by women at the Special Services Unit (SSU) at Point Salines. It is our hope that nothing is done to affect these programmes that bring RGPF much closer to the civilian population and to keep the trust an on-going one.

The St. David’s incident should serve as a reminder to the newly installed Commissioner of Police that he might need to take a much closer look at the operations of police stations and the persons who are put in charge of them. It is rather unfortunate that an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) who is in charge of the station was on the compound at the time and did not apparently know what was happening.

It might be necessary for the Commissioner to ensure that all persons who are put in charge of stations are fully knowledgeable of the running of a station and the protocols involved therein. Gone are the days when people should be put in charge of a station because of length of time in the service.

Experience and know-how should be the standard bearer for selecting persons to mann our stations. No one in handcuffs should be beaten by the police, as this is a defenseless person. No doubt the police will be under the microscope in connection with the death of Oscar Bartholomew while in their care.

The incident brings back into focus the escape of a policeman who was charged with murder in connection with the shooting to death of “Zootie” in the Woodford/Perseverance area following a high-speed bike chase by members of the Drug Squad. The police officer who allegedly fired the fatal bullet that took down “Zootie” was charged with murder. He was taken into the safe custody of his own organisation but mysteriously disappeared from the island.

It is alleged that he was assisted from on the inside to flee the jurisdiction to the United States. Today that policeman is said to be living in Brooklyn, New York in the United States as a free man. The NEW TODAY is not aware of any attempt made by the relevant authorities in Grenada to seek the arrest and extradition of the police officer from the United States back to Grenada to be put on trial for murder as a fugitive from justice.

This can be compared to the action taken by the relevant authorities in Grenada to seek the assistance of INTERPOL to track draughtsman, Crofton Hannibal in Botswana, South Africa where he fled after being charged for attempted murder.

This newspaper would want to believe that the police force that existed in years gone by is much different from what obtains today. It is our sincere hope that the force does nothing silly to prove us wrong in their total handling of the Oscar Bartholomew matter.

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