BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – NATHANIEL, a security guard with a military background, was doing laundry after 2:00 p.m. on Monday in his house on St. Johnston Avenue when he heard the unmistakable sound of gunfire.
“I hear ‘pap’,” Nathaniel said on Wednesday, mimicking what he had heard two days earlier. “I was like, ‘Wha’ wrong with these people here, boy?’ Next thing you know, I hear shots just start to blast like left, right and centre,” he added.
Nathaniel recounted to SKNVibes what he had seen while peering through his curtains. “I saw two masked individuals running coming down the street. One of them went through an alley. The next one ran up toward the Antioch Baptish Church on Infirmary Road and that’s where the mobile vehicle went behind him,” he said.
According to a police press release issued October 19, the police patrol unit detected the masked men’s presence shortly after an officer on the patrol had reported hearing gunshots nearby.The police patrol unit saw the masked men running along St. Johnston Avenue.
A police chase ensued. Then, according to Police Press and Public Relations Officer Inspector Cromwell Henry, the chase ended with one of the masked men being shot. He – Devon Ryan of Blue Belle Alley – sustained a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The police quickly removed his mask and disarmed him on the spot.
“The officers found one 9mm pistol with five matching rounds and a mask on his person,” Inspector Henry told SKNVibes, adding that, “The other masked man managed to escape.”
Ryan and his alleged shooting victim, Uttendale Whyte of Fort Thomas Road, were transported to the Joseph N France Hospital then warded in stable condition. The police found Whyte on St. Johnston Avenue, where he had been shot just minutes earlier allegedly by the two masked men.
The next day, Tuesday, October 20, police captured a man they believe to be the other masked suspect.
Many extend congratulatory messages to the police
“I think what happened Monday will send a clear, clear, clear, clear, clear message to the public and all who are in gangs and who are planning on joining a gang,” said Nathaniel.
He continued: “When they think they can do things and get away with it, it ain’t all the time they’re going to run and get away. In terms of the movements that happened Monday, I know for a fact those youngsters were never thinking about police being on the scene so quick and so fast.” Nathaniel added that there is another reason people should think twice about committing violent crime.
“Members of the police are growing their beard, their mustache, and everything; you don’t know who is who,” he said. Some of the police officers who apprehended the masked man on Monday wore plain clothes while others wore uniforms, according to Nathaniel.
Such policing strategies are playing well with law-abiding members of the public who applaud stepped-up police patrols for leading to swift suspect detentions following major, violent crimes; a case in point is what happened on Monday.
One commenter on SKNVibes posted this congratulatory message: “Good job to the officers who chased and shot this criminal. Thank God they were in the area at the time. Otherwise this would’ve been just another shooting and another criminal on the loose. This shows how important Police Patrols are. Keep up the pressure and increase the patrols – especially in the hot spots! These fellas don’t care – high day 2:00 and they trying to kill people. Steups. So senseless.”
There are many similar online comments, which all acknowledge that the stepped-up patrol activities assist law enforcement in allaying the fears of residents, detaining suspects and persons of interest, as well as detecting and preventing crime.
Murders and public pressure led to increased ‘hard core’ policing
Inspector Cromwell Henry said the effectiveness of these police patrols is apparent in the recent crime statistics.
“We have nightly foot patrols now with plain clothes officers in residential areas,” Inspector Henry said. “We used to have a situation where we would have six to eight house break-ins per night. After we introduced the foot patrols, we brought the house break-ins down to one or two per night. So the overall figures for house break-ins for this year have been reduced compared to last year when there were not as many foot patrols,” he added.
These foot patrols are complemented by the deployment of both uniformed and unmarked mobile patrols, Inspector Henry said. He added that the police have stepped up their presence in every community, but they make sure to pay special attention to high crime areas throughout the day.
“We recognize that the criminals operate both day and night,” said the police inspector. “So we have to adjust our strategies to accommodate that.” Inspector Henry added that, “The general community policing is where you walk around, make your presence known, and you’re friendly. However, the other side of policing – which entails ‘hard core’ policing – is where your presence is not seen but it is felt by those who need it at times.”
Members of the public vehemently uttered a clarion call back in March, stressing the need for stepped-up community police patrols after the shocking drive-by double murder in broad daylight. On March 4 around 1:15 p.m., police responded to a report of a shooting. They found Kwesi Twells and Akimba Whyte lying in the road with multiple gunshot injuries. The young men were pronounced dead at the scene.
Their deaths came two days after Collin ‘Izum’ Matthew died from gunshot wounds sustained while driving a car at Ponds Extension. His homicide was also the result of a drive-by shooting that occurred in the early afternoon.
These murders spurred Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas to cobble together a press conference on the night of March 4.
He was flanked by his Deputy Prime Minister, Honourable Sam Condor; Minister of Public Works, Dr. the Honourable Earl Asim Martin; Commander of the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force, Colonel Patrick Wallace and Acting Commissioner of Police, Stafford Liburd.
The public learnt during the press conference that an emergency Cabinet Meeting with the High Command was held that day after the double murder.
That night, the Prime Minister outlined a take-no-prisoners approach, which included the immediate suspension of vacation for security forces. According to Inspector Cromwell Henry, the vacation suspension was implemented for at least two months after the press conference.
Prime Minister Douglas announced in his March 4 press conference that, “There will be full mobilization of the Police and the Defence Force throughout St. Kitts and Nevis. In this regard, all vacation is suspended for both agencies of the security forces. All senior personnel on vacation are immediately recalled. Also all members of the Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO) ranks of the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force will be sworn in tonight by the Acting Commissioner of Police with local constabulary powers thus providing assistance to the police.”
The Prime Minister added that, “Our intelligence indicated several months ago that the root cause of the homicides that has been causing this Federation much concern is gang-based.”
Then on March 7, the Acting Commissioner of Police disclosed at the annual Police Awards Ceremony that there soon would be an increased police presence on the streets to deal with gang violence.
Police go out more, but fearful residents in high crime areas stay in
But a middle-aged woman, who works as a housekeeper at a home in the Fortlands area on St. Johnston Avenue, says she does not see any police.
She works from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the week and from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on weekends. On her way from work, she walks along St. Johnston Avenue then traverses several streets to get home. “I don’t see any police officers around here in the day on my way to or from work,” the woman said.
She admitted that, “I can’t help you [concerning whether or not the police patrol this neighbourhood] in the night because when I go home I don’t come back out unless I go to church on Sunday night.”
Her fear also was palpable when she explained to SKNVibes why she did not wish to be identified in this story. “Me no want nobody to shoot me, you know! Oh, me ain’t want nobody to come which part I live to come shoot me ’t all,” she said.
Nathaniel, who clocks in for his security guard job at midnight, says he sees law enforcement patrolling The Village regularly throughout the day.
For instance, Nathaniel says he sees them on St. Johnston Avenue where he lives, as well as on Infirmary Road and Cardin Avenue. He said that, “A week before last Saturday, members of the Defence Force were just coming down my road searching the old, abandoned houses to find marijuana and they found a good amount. They went all over The Village."
Nathaniel added that, “When people see these things being put into place, they’re going to feel a lot more secure.”
