The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

POLICE Commissioner Ellison Greenslade will meet today with Ms Joan McKenzie, mother of Tyronne (TJ) Saunders‚ who died mysteriously in police custody last weekend.

Police say Saunders was found unresponsive in his cell on Friday, June 8. Coroner Linda Virgill visited CDU and saw the body before it was taken to the hospital.

Since her son’s death, Ms McKenzie has maintained that police killed him. She described her only son as a young man who was “healthy and active.”

At a press conference, Mr Greenslade said he is meeting with Ms McKenzie to update her on the investigations and give her an opportunity to ask questions.

“This was an unfortunate death. However, I want to ensure the public that this Commissioner is all about good governance and doing things the right way. I have ensured that everything has been done properly in that matter and I would like the public to please wait for Her Majesty’s Coroner to issue a position in that matter. Please do not rush to judgment. This is a professional organisation. I stand on credibility with the vast majority of our people with doing things correctly,” he said.

“I will give the mother a first time accounting of what has been done and will allow her to ask whatever questions she wishes of me and give her the assurances that we have allowed due process and due diligence in this matter. The pubic has a right to know and so I am not side stepping on it, except to say the file is at the coroners, which is independent of the police. So it is a totally unbiased investigation going forward and at the end of the day Her Majesty’s Coroner will rule.”

Mr Greenslade said the officers who were on duty that night have not been taken off active duty because at this point “it’s a non issue.”

“I want to be very clear. If Commissioner Greenslade had any reason to believe that something had happened that demanded my intervention from a criminal perspective, I can assure you I would move to make arrests and would move to charge whoever the perpetrators are, whether they are police officers or members of the public,” he said.

“This is not what we are discussing at this point. We are saying there was an unfortunate death of a man in custody. I am not in a position to tell you why or how. Her Majesty’s Coroner has character of that file as of right now and an independent investigation will be done. The coroner will rule. I believe that is fair to the Bahamian people, fair to the family and fair to the police force.”

In an interview with The Tribune, Ms McKenize said after seeing her son’s body for the first time two days ago, she is convinced, more now than ever that “police killed her son.”

She is currently seeking legal action.