The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis rebuked opposition leader Michael Pintard for saying Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander did not tell the truth when he said someone was in custody as police investigated an alleged physical attack on Free National Movement’s vice-chairman Richard Johnson.

Mr Davis said: “As was widely broadcast in the media, the leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition accused the commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force of being, and I quote, “a liar.”

“What made the attack even more egregious, was the fact that it stemmed from the fact that the honourable gentleman was merely ignorant of the details concerning a police investigation, an investigation in which the honourable member may likely be a person of interest, given the public utterances of the complainant.”

Mr Davis scolded the FNM leader and urged him to apologize.

Mr Pintard later accused him of trying to deflect from the crime issue.

At an FNM press conference earlier this month, Mr Pintard claimed that Commissioner Fernander did not tell the truth about the status of the investigation into an alleged attack against FNM Vice Chairman Richard Johnson.

“Quite frankly, we believe that it’s a lie, but that’s just us,” Mr Pintard said. “If the police are making progress, we welcome that news, and we ask them to let us know.”

Mr Johnson was allegedly attacked outside an FNM meeting on November 30.

He said he was talking to FNM members outside when someone came out of nowhere and hit him across his head, prompting him to defend himself.

FNM leaders later filed a police complaint against him, saying he falsely accused them of orchestrating the attack he experienced.

Mr Johnson sued the FNM in 2022 after executives unanimously barred him from council meetings. He seeks $500,000 in damages, claiming that neither leader Michael Pintard nor chairman Dr Duane Sands had the authority to suspend his membership rights and reassign his vice-chair duties. He wants $250,000 for “loss and unlawful interference” of his membership, $250,000 for “mental distress concerning the matter”, and interest on damages.

Last year, Justice Deborah Fraser instituted an injunction preventing the party’s leaders from barring him from council meetings until she had addressed the substantive matter. She also ordered them not to personally attack each other or other FNM members in public until she had ruled on the lawsuit.

After the controversy over the attack against Mr Johnson, the judge banned Mr Johnson from attending the party’s meetings or visiting its headquarters or precincts until a further court order.