The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AN airport security officer was fired after reportedly searching Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis’ bag during a pre-election stop in Bimini, raising questions about whether airport security protocols were enforced too aggressively or whether political status shielded a dignitary from routine scrutiny.

Carlesha Bain, a Grade 2 security officer and Bimini resident, was dismissed yesterday over what was described as "inappropriate" conduct toward the prime minister and members of his entourage as they departed Bimini on May 3, one week before the general election.

Latonya Symonette, president of the Bahamas Public Sector and Health Professionals Union, which represents line staff at the Airport Authority, confirmed the dismissal and said the union could not defend Ms Bain based on the information it received.

Ms Bain, however, gave a sharply different account in a social media post, insisting she was not rude or confrontational and was simply following her training.

“What I didn’t know that day was that doing my job would eventually cost me my livelihood,” she wrote.

Ms Bain said she advised the prime minister’s delegation that required security procedures had to be followed. She did not give details of what happened during or after the exchange, but said complaints followed and efforts were made to cast her as the wrongdoer.

She said she rejected that account and stood by the training she received.

After the election returned the PLP to office, Ms Bain said “pressure” resumed and eventually led to her dismissal.

When she asked to be suspended instead, she claimed authorities told her: “No, we have to get rid of you.”

Ms Symonette told The Tribune she looked into the circumstances surrounding the dismissal and was told Ms Bain searched the prime minister’s bag and engaged in "other actions." She said authorities have a recording of the incident.

“There's a protocol,” she said. “I have travelled before with dignitaries, and because of the respect that they carry, you normally don't harass them in terms of searching their stuff. You let everything go through the screener and you could see everything on the screener, but to go through the bags as if you know you're trying to prove a point, and then a statement they said that was made was ‘I don't care who he is, I searching the bag’.”

Ms Symonette said she personally uses discretion when dealing with dignitaries and often advises junior staff to let supervisors handle such situations because "we live in a politicised country."

“For me, I would not have engaged,” she said. “I would not have searched the Prime Minister’s bag because he's a dignitary, and I would not have bothered with his entourage. However, she did in fact, and so everybody know within the Airport Authority environment, when those persons come to the airport, yes you do a search, but you also use your discretion to ensure that your conversation is limited.”

Ms Symonette declined to say whether the incident justified dismissal or a lesser penalty, saying she had not reviewed Ms Bain’s file and did not know whether previous incidents were considered.

She said the union could have asked the agency to spare Ms Bain’s job, but added that the matter appeared to have escalated since the May incident.

Ms Bain questioned what protections exist for workers if a security officer can lose her job for enforcing security procedures. She said she has bills and people who depend on her, like many other Bahamians.

“Never did I imagine that doing my job would leave me without one,” she wrote. “Would I have been fired if it were an ordinary Bahamian walking through that airport. Would I have lost my job if I had looked the other way? Would I still be employed today if I had ignored my training?”

“I never asked for special treatment. I only asked for fairness. The question now is simple: Am I victim #1 of the PLP?”

Ms Bain did not respond to requests for further clarity on the incident yesterday. Airport Authority officials also declined to comment.