The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

AN 82-year-old Grand Bahama man says he was left shaken after immigration officers allegedly broke into his home in the middle of the night without producing a warrant or identifying themselves.

Leroy Bell, a Bahamian who has lived in Grand Bahama since 1968, said the incident occurred shortly after midnight on March 5, when he was awakened by loud banging at his property.

His attorney, Paul Wallace-Whitfield, has since lodged a formal complaint with the director and assistant director of the Bahamas Department of Immigration, as well as Attorney General Ryan Pinder.

“I was asleep when I heard a banging on the gate,” Mr Bell said. “They broke the lock to gain entry, and then they came banging on the door and window saying they were immigration officers.”

In a letter dated March 20, Mr Wallace-Whitfield said officers broke the lock on Mr Bell’s gate to access the property and demanded that he open the door.

When Mr Bell hesitated and questioned their presence, one officer allegedly responded: “Open the door! Or we will break it down!”

Mr Bell said he complied out of fear. Four officers in Immigration Department uniforms then entered the apartment. Three searched the bedrooms, while a fourth remained with him in the kitchen.

The attorney said the officer who stayed with Mr Bell appeared “puzzled, perplexed and confused” after it became clear that Mr Bell was a Bahamian citizen living alone and that no undocumented people were present.

“They were rude, and they were arrogant,” Mr Bell said. “I told them I was born in Behring Point, Andros, to Bahamian parents and that I’m Bahamian, and that I live here alone.”

Mr Bell and his attorney said none of the officers identified themselves by name or rank.

“All I saw was their uniforms,” Mr Bell said. “They never gave any names, nothing.”

The officers questioned Mr Bell about whether he was hiding anyone in the apartment and asked him to provide documentation to prove his citizenship. The search lasted between 15 and 30 minutes, and no one else was found.

According to Mr Wallace-Whitfield, the officers left abruptly without explanation, apology or acknowledgement that they had entered the wrong premises. He described their conduct as “inappropriate, excessive, high-handed and unacceptable in the circumstances.”

Mr Bell said the officers also failed to secure the property before leaving and that the damaged gate was left open.

“They broke the lock off my gate and I had to replace it myself,” he said. “To this day, nobody has apologised.”

In his letter, the attorney said no offer of restitution was made for the damage. He is demanding a written apology, compensation for the damaged lock, improved training for immigration officers in executing search warrants, and disciplinary action against the four officers involved.

He also called for a full investigation into the incident and said he has not received any acknowledgement of the complaint from immigration officials or the Attorney General’s Office.

“There is no justification for our Bahamian client being treated in the fashion that he was,” Mr Wallace-Whitfield wrote. “This must never happen again to a Bahamian in his own country.”

Mr Bell said the experience was deeply distressing.

“I was frightened and very scared,” he said. “I never had anything like this happen to me in my life.”

The Tribune contacted the Department of Immigration in Grand Bahama to speak with Assistant Director Bernard Pratt, but got no response up to press time.

Mr Bell said he has received no follow-up communication from authorities.

“I feel there was no justification to treat me that way,” he said.