The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

ACTING Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander is unhappy with the pace inquests are happening at the Coroner’s Court, saying it is clear that police-involved “matters are not moving as swiftly as they should”.

Lawyers have long complained about the Coroner’s Court and how long it takes before inquests are held.

Although the pace significantly improved during the Minnis administration, it came to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic. While inquests into other deaths have resumed, inquests into police involved killings have not.

Last month, National Security Minister Wayne Monroe said police-related inquests have not resumed because the director of public prosecutions has not appointed a lawyer to marshal the cases.

 “I’m not happy,” Mr Fernander said yesterday. “I know they’re trying to do some restructuring and all that with the court. No, I’m not happy with the way it’s really moving through the Coroner’s Court. I know they have their challenges and I don’t know what it is, but they’re not moving as I feel it should be. If you speak to the coroner, I like to stay in my lane when I speak to these things. I don’t want to get caught up…(but) obviously there are a number of outstanding matters, a lot outstanding. You hear even family victims speaking out about it and all of that so it’s clear that matters are not moving as swiftly as they should. What’s creating that monster I can’t say.”

 The Bahamas has one of the highest per-capita rates of police-involved killings in the world.

 Mr Fernander’s comments came after the country recorded two police-involved killings in the last week.

 During a press briefing yesterday, Mr Fernander said the first matter, which happened on Wednesday shortly after 1pm, took place in Carmichael after police were called to the area.

 He said: “Officers responded from the Carmichael Road division and as they got into that area they saw a young man who was walking with a firearm. As they approached, this chap pulled a weapon and fired several shots at the police vehicle and you would note that a video went viral with that and you can see the suspect shooting at the police vehicle which caused damage to the left rear windshield. If there was an officer sitting in the back there he or she would have been dead today. Officers were able to pursue that young man, there was an exchange of gunfire, the culprit was eventually shot and killed there. A weapon, a pistol, was recovered from that scene.”

 The second incident, Mr Fernander said, happened in the eastern area of New Providence on Sunday.

 “Officers from two months ago, we noted a trend in the eastern area where a number of homes were being broken into,” he said. “Officers came together from the eastern division to put a strategy in place with a view to trying to apprehend the persons responsible and last night it was an operation put in place. While there at a residence in the east, an individual came there, entered a property and attempted to get into a residence and officers approached, there was a struggle, the culprit was armed with a crowbar, there was a struggle, the individual attempted to take the weapon from the officer and he was shot. He died on scene. The crowbar was collected.”

 Mr Fernander said the victims of recent police-involved killings have been “very bold.”

 “They are very bold and they will go to the very end in not only trying to harm the officers but to get away, and you can see the footage that went viral, that they’re shooting at the police cars as it passes, so we will find that these things happen, they will confront us, but our officers are trained.”