POLICE shot a woman during a car chase that ended in an accident in Grand Bahama yesterday.
The 22-year-old woman from Jones Town, Eight Mile Rock was taken to hospital after the incident. Police did not release any details on her condition.
However, The Tribune understands that she was not the intended target.
Police said the incident unfolded in the Mall Drive area shortly before 2am Sunday when officers on routine patrol near a local club spotted a red Nissan Sentra with four occupants, including three women and a man.
The male driver, who was known to officers and out on bail for attempted murder, was reportedly ordered from the car.
However, he refused to comply, police said, and tried to knock officers down to evade them.
“Hence, officers being in fear for their lives opened fire on the driver who sped off at a high rate of speed,” police said in a statement.
“It is reported that while attempting to evade police, the driver lost control of the vehicle causing it to overturn at the junction of East Sunrise Highway and East Atlantic Drive.
“The vehicle was extensively damaged.”
Police said another female occupant, a 27-year resident of Pinedale, was left injured from the accident and was taken to the Rand Memorial Hospital.
She is expected to be airlifted to Nassau for further medical assistance.
The third female occupant was also taken to the Rand and later discharged, police added.
Meanwhile, the male driver, a 27-year-old resident of Frobisher Drive, was arrested shortly after his escape.
Police said he had breached his bail conditions.
This incident is the first police-involved shooting for the year, according to this newspaper’s records.
While it is not clear how many police-involved shootings were recorded last year, there were 21 reported in 2021.
Thirteen of those were fatal.
To date, many relatives of victims are still seeking answers as there has not been an inquest into police-involved shootings since 2020.
Justice Sir Ian Winder addressed the issue last week during a ceremony to mark the opening of the legal year, when he urged the director of public prosecutions to have the matter addressed.
He maintained that proper functioning of the Coroner’s Court continues to be a challenge and said while the acting coroner is doing a commendable job, she is hampered by the absence of a marshal to lead the evidence before the court.
“While inquests, other than police-involved deaths, are being carried out, the court is unable to properly fulfil its mandate in respect of all debts. Discussions with the learned director of public prosecutions had initially identified an officer to perform the function,” Sir Ian added.
“That option has since fallen through and the search continues, I’m advised, to locate a replacement marshall. I implore the director of public prosecutions once again to bring the conclusion to this matter.”
The Tribune has previously reported that the country recorded 11 police-involved killings in 2017, 2018 and 2020 and has one of the highest per capita rates of police-involved killings in the world.
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