MITCHELL DEFENDS THE POLICE
The following was originally published in the Nassau Guardian on Thursday 11 July 2024:
The Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) was “read the riot act” over serious allegations that led to the head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Chief Superintendent Michael Johnson being sent on garden leave pending an investigation, Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell said yesterday.
Mitchell said the country’s leaders are taking the claims seriously but dismissed calls from the Free National Movement (FNM) for a commission of inquiry or for foreign law enforcement agencies to step in and investigate.
“We are now faced with a set of allegations [that] go to the root of law enforcement capabilities,” said Mitchell in a voice note released on Independence Day.
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“We have gone down this road before and one thing we know is that in order to achieve justice and equity, you don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
“The government has been looking into the performance of the force since it came to office. Looking at its management, looking at its future, and where it’s headed.
“… Our friends in the FNM always have this knee-jerk reaction to call in foreigners to clean up the mess. But we may say this: this is The Bahamas.
“When we accepted the responsibility of independence, we took on the responsibility of managing and solving our own problems. The rules in this matter have so far been followed and they will be followed. The decisions must be evidence-based and not by some cockamamie suppositions and conjecture.”
Mitchell reiterated that the matter is being taken seriously by the government and the RBPF.
“The police have been read the riot act,” he said. “The reputation of the force and the confidence of the Bahamian people in the force rides on the ability of its managers to navigate these issues with justice, equity, truthfulness and [letting] the chips fall where they may and without damaging our one and only law enforcement agency.
“Outside expertise can help, but this is no commission of inquiry issue.”
A police investigation was launched after voice notes of conversations purportedly between a now-deceased gang member and two other men were circulated on social media last week.
The voice notes, which entail separate conversions, detail the man attempting to negotiate with two other men about turning himself in to the police and what it would cost for him to be released after he is questioned.
The man who was murdered in May had been described by police at the time as a major player in the Outlaws gang.
Last week, Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander announced Johnson is on leave pending the outcome of an investigation into this matter.
The man who shared the explosive recordings on Facebook also released what he claimed is evidence that some police officers are sharing with hit men the GPS locations of men on bail who are being electronically monitored with ankle bracelets. The man who leaked the recordings claimed hit men then carried out gangland assassinations of these suspects.
On Monday, Fernander told reporters that the RBPF’s Security and Intelligence Branch (SIB) will oversee the investigation into the allegations.
He added that two international entities from the United Kingdom and the United States would also assist in the investigation to ensure the probe is “independent, impartial, and fair”.
Fernander did not disclose the names of these entities.
Yesterday, Mitchell said former Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis, who called for a commission of inquiry into the claims earlier this week, “should be ashamed of himself”.
Mitchell added if such an inquiry is held, it should look into matters that occurred during the Minnis administration such as the alleged “misuse of public funds during the pandemic”.
FNM Chairman Dr. Duane Sands has called on the government to seek international help from Scotland Yard and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He said a commission of inquiry may be needed as well.