The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

A FATHER whose son was killed in a 2017 traffic collision says he was stunned to see the police officer — now charged over the death — back in uniform and investigating a traffic accident last week.

Phillip Clare said he drove to an accident scene himself after two of his sons told him they had seen Corporal 3847 Samuel Rolle working there, nearly a decade after Phillip Daniel Clare Jr was struck and killed on Tonique Williams-Darling Highway.

Rolle was charged in June with causing Clare Jr’s death by dangerous driving, almost two years after a Coroner’s Court jury returned a verdict of gross negligence manslaughter in the case.

Mr Clare said seeing Rolle on active duty sent him into a panic.

“I fear for my life,” Mr Clare said, “my children fear for their lives because you ain’t know what he gonna do. It's been 10 years this man knocked down my son.”

Clare Jr, 21, was killed on January 10, 2017.

Prosecutors allege Rolle, who was off duty at the time, was driving a 2008 Suzuki Swift at a dangerously fast speed when he struck Clare Jr as he attempted to cross the highway.

Clare Jr had reportedly been crossing the highway to get food from Pressure Point Bar when he was hit by Rolle’s civilian vehicle.

Mr Clare said he initially struggled to believe his sons when they told him they had seen Rolle investigating an accident. He drove to the area and circled it a second time to make sure the officer was the same man involved in his son’s case.

Photographs and videos shared with The Tribune purportedly show Rolle in Royal Bahamas Police Force uniform at the scene.

Mr Clare questioned why an officer facing a criminal charge over a traffic death was still working on active duty.

“That's a big slap in my face and my family face at this time,” Mr Clare said. “My son died in the hands of him and he still on the police force today.”

The Tribune contacted Commissioner of Police Shanta Knowles and Deputy Commissioner Kirkwood Andrews but received no response up to press time.

Mr Clare said his son’s death and the years that followed have taken an emotional, financial and physical toll on his family. He said relatives conducted their own investigation because they feared the case could be swept under the rug.

“You know how much money you have to pay for a lawyer to fight for you in this country?” he said.

Rolle was granted $8,500 bail in June after being charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

During the 2024 Coroner’s Court inquest, the court heard that police found Rolle’s car was unlicensed and uninsured, although no traffic charges were brought against him at the time.

Rolle appeared before acting Chief Magistrate Ancella Evans in June and was not required to enter a plea.

He was told the matter would proceed to the Supreme Court by voluntary bill of indictment.