The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Perry Christie said yesterday he will personally look into all of the recent incidents in which young men have died while in police custody or were shot and killed by members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Mr Christie also said he was “concerned” about the lack of information that victims’ families claim to be receiving from the police.

He made his comments in front of the House of Assembly shortly after being confronted by the family of victims who died while in police custody.

Admitting that he was not familiar with the intricate details of most of the cases, Mr Christie promised not only to look into the matters himself but to report his finding to the families as soon as possible.

“These people are obviously concerned over what appears to be a lack of information in connection with the death of relatives, in some instances their sons and brothers, and it appears to me that a lot of it has to do with the fact that we have not been sufficient, that is the authorities, have not been responsive to them by saying exactly what has happened, but even when you do so some of them just arrive at their own conclusions. So for me I thought it was important that I listen because there is nothing worse than a family member who feels aggrieved over authorities doing something to their child or relative. They believe it and it takes a lot of convincing to get them to change their mind,” he said.

“What I wanted to do was let them know that I am hearing what they are saying and to let them know that I am concerned about it and to let them know that I am really speaking on behalf of the government and that would mean I am speaking on behalf of the Minister of National Security, I am speaking on behalf of the Commissioner of Police in the context that once you have said it to me, that I will then be in a position to make whatever inquiries I wish to make and then to be able to come back to these people that are here.

“A part of good citizenship is to make your case known, to state your grievances and a part of good governance is for there to be a response with a view to seeing whether it is possible to arrive at a conclusion that everyone agrees with. So in this case they are saying they want justice and in my case I am going to see whether in fact, justice has been done but has not been seen to be done and so that is where we are challenged and for me to determine the extent of which it happens.

“My job is to respond to them, so I have invited the president of the association to bring to me the cases that she says are cases where justice was not done and I will cause those cases to be looked at with a view to my being able to give a proper explanation to members of the family or to the head of the group.”

As it relates to the latest deaths in police custody, Jamie Smith, 25, and Aaron Rolle, 21,  Mr Christie said he has the utmost faith that Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade will see that justice is done.

“Essentially,” he said, “if a matter is before the courts, the commissar and everyone else is waiting not the facts, in my discussions with the Commissioner, with respect to the latest matters being investigated, it is very clear from the outset his intention was to see that justice be done and to get to the bottom of it and that the information that you see coming out I presume he was well aware that the information was headed in that direction.

“He was determined to ensure that justice is done for the police force and justice is done for the victims and the people of our country and so I don’t have any doubt about the integrity of the Commissioner of the Police in all of these matters but what I have to do is to try to understand if there has not been the responses people have said, find out why. Is it because the matter was before the courts? Or is it simply a matter that someone had been delegated that responsibility and not carried it out?”

The pathologist has determined that Smith died from asphyxiation and Rolle from blunt force trauma.

A corner’s inquest for Smith has been set for March 26th, a date for Rolle has yet to be announced.