Thorne Clarke, who is paralysed from the chest down after being shot by police. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff
By SANCHESKA BROWN
Tribune Staff Reporter
sbrown@tribunemedia.net
THORNE Clarke, 22, was left paralysed from the chest down after being shot in the back by police while driving on Wilson Tract three months ago.
The former accounting major at The College of The Bahamas said he still has no idea why officers pulled him over or why they “felt the need to shoot him” when he “posed them no threat”.
In an interview with The Tribune in his Faith Avenue home, Mr Clarke said his medical bills are “piling up” and he needs to have surgery to remove the bullet that is still lodged in his spine - something he says the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) should fund.
In addition Mr Clarke said he needs a hospital bed, a back brace, a wheelchair and a full-time caregiver since he is no longer able to take care of himself. He said the family plans on suing the RBPF for medical expenses, pain and suffering.
Mr Clarke was shot shortly after 10pm on Saturday, February 13, in the Wulff Road Area.
According to a police report released the next day, officers said they saw a suspicious looking man get into a Nissan vehicle and attempt to drive off.
“Officers surrounded the vehicle and ordered the driver out. The driver refused and attempted to ‘knock down’ one of the officers. The officer in fear of his life, shot the suspect. The suspect was then taken to the hospital under heavy police guard,” the RBPF press release said.
However, Mr Clarke said he never got out of his vehicle and never tried to hit anyone with his car. He said he was driving through a corner when officers stopped him.
“They were dressed in the blue uniform,” he recalled. “They told me to stop and I did and they asked me to come out of the vehicle. I asked them why and told them to give me a reason. They just kept shouting at me telling me to get out. I asked them again, why I needed to get out when I did nothing wrong and they refused to answer me.”
“They didn’t answer so I began to pull off. I didn’t even get 10 feet when they shot at the car. They hit me in the back and my legs immediately went stiff. I couldn’t take my foot off the gas pedal so I crashed into Windsor Park wall. “Officers then came and dragged me out of the car, threw me on floor and handcuffed me. They were kicking and one of the officers had his foot on my face. I was screaming because I was in pain,” He claimed that the officer told him that he “might as well make peace with the Lord and die.”
“I had on a tam and they took it off and looked at me,” he said. He claimed that the officer then remarked. “This isn’t even the n*a we was looking for.” After that they got on the phone and called their bosses, they didn’t even call the ambulance until 15 minutes later when their superior got there,” he claimed.
Mr Clarke said officers stayed with him in the hospital for four days “until they caught the guy they thought I was or was associated with, then they left.”
Karen Clarke, Mr Clarke’s mother, said her son was in the hospital for four weeks and no one from the RBPF came to speak to her or her son until two days before he was released. Even then, Ms Clarke said they still did not explain to her what happened.
She also criticised the staff at the hospital, who she claimed neglected her son because “they thought he was a criminal” causing him to develop “huge, deep bed sores.”
“We wanted to fly him out when he got shot, but we were told we couldn’t do that because he was under police guard, we couldn’t even move him to Doctors Hospital because the head nurses said he was under arrest,” Ms Clarke said.
“The nurses there were not paying him any attention. When he was finally released his bedsores were terrible. They were like old people bedsores, he was there for a month and one of the bedsores was so bad my fist could fit in it.
“After the police left, the nurses started to treat him different. When they released (him), he was not a criminal but at that point he was already bad. When I brought him home and I changed him and then I saw the bedsores, it broke me down. I didn’t break down when they told me he got shot and was paralysed but that bedsore did it for me. I couldn’t stop crying. To see how they neglected him that hurt me. They just had him lying there in filth with no attention.”
Ms Clarke also said doctors in the United States said if her son had received the proper medical attention right away, he might have been able to walk. She also said they don’t understand why the bullet was never removed.
Mr Clarke is scheduled to travel to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Florida in June to remove the bullet and begin physical therapy but the family is unable to pay the medical expenses.
They are hoping to have a cook out to raise funds on Labour Day.
When contacted by The Tribune, Assistant Commissioner of Police Stephen Dean said police are “sticking to their original statement” on the matter.
Comments
cmiller 8 years, 6 months ago
Why didn't he just come out of the car?? So sad.
TigerB 8 years, 6 months ago
I agree with you cmiller, this will be a tough one, suspicion goes a long way in the RBPF, however, it will be a question of justifiable force. I think they use excessive force, they could have shot out a tire to stop him. He will win that law suit hands down.
Cainn 8 years, 6 months ago
not in the Bahamas... he stated that he pulled off because they didn't give him a reason for being stopped. even in the most modern of countries you'd need permission to drive off after being stopped by the authorities(police, swat, etc.). this is going to be one hard consequence to live with...
licks2 8 years, 6 months ago
I hope that the Police is telling the truth. . .if not. . ."WE" will have to pay a huge amount of money. . .and the officer who shot will be charged with reckless endangerment!
concerned242citizen 8 years, 6 months ago
RBPF deal with such hardened criminals on a regular basis and they have the difficult task of protecting themselves while attempting to bring these criminals to justice. It is important for citizens to co-operate with them as they carry out their duties. The officers could have handled this situation better but it is understandable based on the story why they reacted the way they did. It's hard to be rational when under pressure. Unfortunate!
DreamerX 8 years, 6 months ago
I'm sorry. I hate that this happened, but "They didn't give me a reason"?
Those officers used unnecessary force however the young man was stopped, received clear instruction and then decided he would rather defy the instruction. I could understand if he mentioned that the officers were in plain clothes or he could not identify them but he is 30-60% responsible given what is disclosed from the young man. It is noted that the gent believes from his observation there was an ongoing hunt for someone else and he was caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time and that's saddening. But given my experiences with police being overly aggressive pointing guns and even being quite abusive in their original approach, I do not know the nerve of attempting to flee. Maybe I am a weaker man at heart and am afraid to defy authority...but I can't reconcile the risk of fleeing from cops.
This seems indicative of a mistrust of police officers by my fellow youth. I see so much hate toward "crooked police" all the time but these same gents also have a friend who is a cop they ask/pay for favors. The duality!
CommonSense 8 years, 6 months ago
So because they didn't give you a reason you tried to pull off? Come on now. Maybe one of the cops tried to get in the way of the car to get him to stop and that's where the whole "tried to run one of us over" thing came from. People...if the police tell you to get out of the car then get out. He made them even more suspicious by trying to pull off.
thephoenix562 8 years, 6 months ago
Forget your rights.preserve your body.Trust me.You could be the Pope the story will still be the same."He tried to run over an officer" and the all purpose "he had a shiny object in his hand.The safest thing to do is get out of the car and answer all questions.You have nothing to question the officers about.You get to go home in one piece body intact,all your teeth in your mouth.
sealice 8 years, 6 months ago
We get both sides of the story here - trigger happy cops - guy dressed like rasta.... the one thing i don't hear is some hot shot lawyer taking the case for publicity so it makes me think that the LAW will side with the cops and this guy is sadly gonna be like a pooch unless he gets a miracle
John 8 years, 6 months ago
I guess you'all didn't read the first part of the article which says the young man was 22 years old and an accounting major at COB. He also said the car went forward and crashed, "after he got shot and no longer had control of his legs.' Being twice this young man's age I have been stopped by the police on more than one occasion and they (the police never try to make it a pleasant experience. They try to intimidate you from the out set and treat you like a criminal. By law a police is suppose to tell you why he stopped you, even before telling you to exit your vehicle, but their usual response is, shut up and do what I tell you." Then when they get you out the vehicle, they proceed to strip search you and your vehicle in the public. On one occasion I was made to remove my shoes and stand in the rain while the searched my vehicle. Then they (police drove off and still to this day have not told me why they stopped me of what they were searching for. This matter could have easily been avoided if the police had asked the driver to present his driver's license. But even after they shot him (multiple times) they continued to abuse him, refusing to call an ambulance, one putting his boots on his face and him being told to prepare to meet his maker. The first experience many young men in this country have with physical violence and abuse is at the hands of police officers and so they fall out of society and turn rogue gang members. This type of police activity help create the crim problem we are faced with today.
jackbnimble 8 years, 6 months ago
I agree. This is more normal than not. They go into what they perceive as bad areas and arrest the young men for no reason. It doesn't make for good community policing. All it does it makes the young men hate them more.
Emac 8 years, 6 months ago
100% correct. I believe all black males have had similar experiences in this country!
birdiestrachan 8 years, 6 months ago
I am very sorry for this young man and his family. It can not be easy. and as they usually say "Known to the Police" They seem not to say that in this case.
DEDDIE 8 years, 6 months ago
I am teaching my sons if a police stop you, drop on the ground and spread arms and legs before they even ask.Don't give them the slightest reason to use their gun.
yari 8 years, 6 months ago
I can't understand how he could think it would be okay to ignore the police and drive off. Does he not understand their role and the authority they hold? He would maybe have been delayed but what are a few minutes compared to being paralyzed?
pablojay 8 years, 6 months ago
We have to look at this situation from all sides and not with an ax to grind with the police. Officers were in a known high crime area looking for a suspect, they saw someone whom they thought was acting suspiciously and stopped the vehicle and ordered the young man out of his car who,by his own words said that they did so more than once, who then subsequently refused to obey their command and then started to drive off. He was then shot by them , who then were able to get a good look at him and recognized that he was not the person that they were looking for. If he had obeyed their instructions initially and stepped out of the vehicle, they would have seen him completely and up close and told him to be on his way
Kaykay 8 years, 6 months ago
Being the mother of a son my heart bleeds for this young man and his family. If this young man is telling the truth and I believe he is, it is very sad. From his treatment by the police to his experience in the hospital, it sounds like a literal nightmare. Going from being a healthy young man with a bright future to being paralyzed in what probably seems like an instant must be extremely horrifying, and in the Bahamas where the disable are still fighting for basic rights, he is going to have to be strong mentally. My prayers are with him and his family.
justthefactsplease 8 years, 6 months ago
So let me get this...he tried to knock the officer down...the officer feared for his life and shot...it is obvious the vehicle was going forward as he crashed front on into the wall (I know that from another source) but he was shot in the back...I don't get it...how do you shoot from in front of someone and hit him in the back???? Can a gun expert explain that for me?
TigerB 8 years, 6 months ago
Good observation, policemen are good at putting together reports that will make them look good or innocent.
sheeprunner12 8 years, 6 months ago
How many (an number) of our young, strong, Bahamian men are reduced to dependent, worthless, anti-social, unproductive beggars EACH DAY ........because of the cruel and inhumane actions of parents, teachers, pastors, doctors or policemen in this country???????
................ this is something worth investigating by the journalists in more detail
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