The Tribune

By LETRE SWEETING

A MAN was shot and killed by police on Thursday when he produced a handgun and engaged the officers, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Shortly after 10pm on Thursday, police officers from Operation Ceasefire responded to information about people with illegal handguns on a property on Miami Street, between Cordeaux and Balfour Avenues, police said.

A man was found on the property and shot by a police officer when he produced a handgun and engaged officers on the scene, police said.

Shortly after the shooting, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrived and confirmed the man’s death. Officers then recovered a handgun and some ammunition from the body, police said.

This was the third fatal shooting involving a police officer this year.

In April, a man wearing a bulletproof vest was shot by police when they responded to an armed robbery after 1am in the area of Delancey Street.

In January, a police officer shot and killed a Royal Bahamas Defence Force officer who allegedly “charged” at him and tried to disarm him.

Last year, 21 police-involved shootings were recorded, of which 13 were fatal.

The Tribune had previously reported that The Bahamas has one of the highest per capita rates of police involved killings in the world, with 11 recorded in 2017, 2018 and 2020.

Two years ago, a backlog of Coroner’s Court inquests into police involved shootings caused concern. The hearings were initially delayed because of COVID-19 in 2020. Later, former Coroner Jeanine Weech-Gomez was sworn in as a Supreme Court justice, causing further delays as officials waited to replace her.

Currently, Magistrate Kara Turnquest-Deveaux is the acting coroner, as of September 2021.

Meanwhile investigations into Thursday’s incident are being led by the acting coroner and are continuing.