BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – HUGH OSWALD WALLACE, father of 17-year-old Philo Wallace who was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer on October 17, said he has doubts that justice would be done for his son.
Philo, according to reports, was shot in the chest while at Enrique’s Bar and died at the Alexandra Hospital approximately half hour after. Reports indicate that prior to the shooting, there was an altercation within the Bar where the police officer sustained an injury to his head.
Since Philo’s death, the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force held a press conference during which members of the High Command as well as the Commander for the Nevis Division indicated that the matter was under investigation and the officer who shot Philo was on sick leave.
Hugh Wallace, in an interview with SKNVibes, said he does not have much confidence in the current system where police officers investigate their own.
“The thing about it is once police are going to judge police you could expect the worst. I have an issue with the police trying the police. That’s a big, big, big problem. A police cannot try a police. No justice will be there! I just don’t believe any justice will be there, because I just don’t trust them. An independent body should have been set up to investigate. Police judging police? I don’t trust that at all, at all, at all. Some of them are very dishonest. We still have some good police, but some of them are dishonest.”
Wallace also explained that there is no formal lines of communication between himself and the police, so he is not aware of how the investigations are progressing.
“I am just hearing things back and forth, not anything of sense, not anything concrete…I just don’t understand. I don’t feel like justice is being done for my son. We are just waiting a little because we can’t do anything until they finish doing what they are doing, then we would go forward from there.”
It is being bandied that the embattled officer has since returned to active duty, and this was confirmed by this media house.
A senior officer informed this media house that following the incident, the Constable was sent on sick leave and has since resumed active duty.
This media house however learnt that the Constable is based somewhere in St. Kitts and was reportedly seen on numerous occasions at Camp Springfield.
