THE DISPUTE OF SHOOTING OF DEFENCE FORCE OFFICER

Marine Rodney Adderley

We thank the Commodore of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force for his sober reflections on the death of the marine Leading Seaman Rodney Adderley who was shot by police to death last week on 10 January 2022.  The Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe made a statement which said that he agreed with the police version of events that the man charged the officers and he was shot and killed because the officer feared for his life.  This was in advance of the coroner’s inquest.  This caused an upset to the family and howls from legal practitioners because it appeared that the case was being prejudged.  It turns out that the man was having mental issues before he died.  The Commodore said that it was unfortunate that all of this was publicly revealed and that we have to find better ways of dealing with this as well as the issue of police violence against those who threaten them.  It is very sad what has happened and now whether the police were justified or not, it has sullied the reputation of the Force yet again because of the insensitive way the matter was handled afterward.