The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE arraignment of a senior police officer in a fatal shooting involving an American has triggered fresh anger among families still waiting for answers in other police-involved killings, with relatives questioning what they see as uneven pace of action in the justice system.

Relatives of Makaveli Tinker, 28, and Valentino Seymour, 32, said their cases have stalled, while Superintendent Berneil Pinder was swiftly brought before the courts after being charged with the murder of an American Pike Corporation worker outside Da Plantation Bar & Grill over the weekend.

Pinder has not yet entered a plea, and the matter is expected to take months to reach trial if he contests the charge. His case has drawn international attention, with the US Embassy offering the FBI’s assistance. US Deputy Chief of Mission Kimberly Furnish confirmed yesterday that officials will monitor the case closely and are confident the government can bring it to justice.

Most police-involved killings are sent to the Coroner’s Court. Direct criminal charges are rare but not unprecedented. In 2020, a former police sergeant was charged with manslaughter in Exuma, and in 2021, three officers were charged with murder in a separate case. Neither case went to the Coroner’s Court. Privately, officials say the existence of clear video footage is often decisive in determining what route is taken.

Even so, Pinder’s case has sharpened concerns about how quickly authorities act in some matters compared with others.

A relative of Tinker said the family has yet to receive a timeline for an inquest and was warned the process could take years. Tinker was killed last month by an off-duty officer. Although police press liaison Chief Superintendent Sheria King said at the scene that Tinker was unknown to the officer, relatives of the victim contradicted this, saying they saw the men arguing days earlier. The officer remains on active duty, a reality that has deepened the family’s frustration.

“I don't even understand how this one guy get a whole fast track case because he's American,” Tinker’s relative said yesterday. “It’s troubling to know that there's no justice or clarity. Makaveli could have been in the wrong, but I would never know until years later.”

For Seymour’s family, the wait has been similar. A year after he was shot by an off-duty officer, his sister, Shanequa Thompson, said there has been little progress and limited information about the status of the investigation.

“Right now, I’m wishing I was related to this Pike people because at least I would’ve gotten straight fast,” she said.

Seymour, a father of one, was killed last February after police said he was seen firing a weapon near Palm Beach Street. His family disputes that account and said the lack of answers has forced them to try to piece together what happened themselves.

“In The Bahamas,” Ms Thompson said, “a police would shoot and kill someone, and it's like, ‘okay, it's on hold until it comes up’ and the family has to wait in limbo like no answers, no questions, no nothing. You don't know what happened and based on what they said, you try to find witnesses, and you start doing your own investigation just to piece together what actually happened because if you go by the account that they initially give, you'll be like, wow, my relative did that?”

Ms Thompson said the family is now trying to determine its next steps following the death of their attorney, Romona Farquharson-Seymour. She said the lawyer had indicated last year she would try to have the case expedited, though she acknowledged such matters can take years.

“You know what, for my brother, I'm going to keep pushing,” Ms Thompson said. “But seeing this whole situation with the Pike worker, I was like, wow, like this country is something else because it’s no way Bahamians shouldn't be first in our own country.”

Yesterday, Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles, in an interview with Eyewitness News, rejected claims of external pressure in the American’s case. She acknowledged the long wait many families face but said the pace of proceedings rests with the courts.