The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMAS Consul General to Atlanta Randy Rolle has returned to the Bahamas “for consultations” with Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials in Nassau, according to a statement from a government spokesman yesterday.

The two-line statement said Mr Rolle will meet “with his principals at the headquarters”.

On Wednesday, Mr Rolle told The Tribune that he had been instructed to return to New Providence to give an account of what led to his arrest in Bimini over the holiday weekend. However, he did not say when he would return but stressed that he did not think he would be fired.

This came after Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade strongly denied FNM suggestions that he intervened on Mr Rolle’s behalf for his release from custody.

Mr Greenslade told this newspaper that he became aware of the incident after Mr Rolle was let go without charge.

He said Mr Rolle sent him a message on the mobile messenger service WhatsApp, followed by an email to communicate the series of events.

It was then, the commissioner said, that he ordered the superintendent in Bimini to look into the matter and to report his findings.

“It was a situation where there was a major event happening in Bimini, a homecoming of sorts (and) the streets were congested,” Mr Greenslade said of Mr Rolle’s arrest, during an interview in his office at Police Headquarters on East Street. “Police officers determined that they should set up a diversion to get the traffic to move around the area so as not to have complications.

“The police had reason to speak with Consul General Randy Rolle who was on a golf cart and, of course, pointed him to the area where he should divert. That conversation did not go extremely well. It was quite verbal, some verbal jostling between the initial officers and the consul general, and subsequently a sergeant was called in who again made an intervention and had reason to arrest the consul general for disorderly behaviour.”

He added: “The answer to the question of whether the commissioner ordered the release of Consul General Randy Rolle in respect of the recent police matter in Bimini is erroneous.

“It never happened and I am very bothered by the fact that anyone would put that out as a factual statement because it did not happen. There is no information to my attention that any politician, including the prime minister or any politician on any side made any intervention in that matter.”

Attempts to reach Mr Rolle for comment yesterday were unsuccessful up to press time.