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Posted: Friday 16 February, 2018 at 10:04 AM

Is the Police Force slothful in investigating its own?

By: Stanford Conway, SKNVibes.com

    BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – CONSTABLE Brian Pacquette is gone and so is Constable Bijon Warner. However, while Pacquette has gone to the ‘great beyond’, Warner has reportedly gone to the USA and is deemed a fugitive.

     


    But why is he deemed a fugitive?

    Well, he was being investigated by the Office of Professional Standards of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSNPF) following a shooting incident that resulted in the death of his colleague, Constable Pacquette, and also for allegedly pistol-whipping a civilian.

    He has since absconded from the law enforcement institution.

    Pacquette died at the West Shore Medical Facility in the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on Monday, July 18, 2016.

    This unfortunate situation has led to many pertinent questions being asked by Pacquette’s family members, media practitioners and many concerned citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis as well as others in the Commonwealth of Dominica, the island of Pacquette’s birth.

    Shot in the line of duty

    On Monday, July 4, 2016, SKNVibes had reported that following surgeries at the West Shore Medical Facility in Trinidad, medical practitioners were forced to amputate Pacquette’s right leg.

    It was as a result of him being shot in that leg, allegedly with his own service pistol, in the wee hours of Thursday, June 23, 2016.

    Initial reports stated that at about 1:00 a.m. on the day in question, while Constable Pacquette and another rank had responded to a report of larceny in the Greenlands area, they had stopped an individual of interest in Prickle Pear Alley and decided to conduct a body search.

    During the search, the officers reportedly found a knife in the man’s possession and they decided to take him into custody. A struggle however ensured among the three of them and the man allegedly grabbed Paquette’s service pistol from which a round was discharged and struck him in his right leg.

    It was learnt that the other officer subdued the individual, whose name was given as Evron Williams. He was taken into custody at the Basseterre Police Station and later charged with attempting to make use of a firearm with intent to prevent lawful apprehension of himself.

    Ironically, on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 29, 2016, the police had issued a release that read, “With regards to the incident which took place on Thursday June 23rd in Basseterre, the matter has been referred to the Office of Professional Standards and the injured officer is presently receiving further medical treatment overseas. We want to reassure the public that we will follow the procedure to the highest standard and will keep them informed of any developments as they occur.”

    Though the release did not provide details on the shooting incident, it was logical to conclude that Warner was the perpetrator (maybe accidentally), as it is known that only disciplinary matters involving errant members of the RSCNPF are referred to the Office of Professional Standards.

    Hospitalisation and treatment

    This publication was told that when shot, Pacquette was bleeding profusely and his colleague had made several calls to get a unit from the Emergency Medical Services to transport him to the JNF Hospital, but those calls were futile. However, a police patrol vehicle had responded and took him to the medical institution.

    SKNVibes also learnt that the injured Constable was warded at the JNF Hospital for approximately four days before being flown, via air ambulance, to Trinidad for advance medical treatment.

    According to his uncle, Austin Harris, the Medical Chief-of-Staff, Dr. Cameron Wilkinson, had suggested that the injured man be flown out of the Federation within 24 to 48 hours after he was shot. But that did not happen until Monday, June 27, 2016, which caused Harris and other family members to question the delay.

    The St. Kitts-Nevis Observer had quoted had quoted Harris as saying: “On Friday (Jun. 24), we were told that the air ambulance was cancelled because there wasn’t any insurance. As a family we decided we would pay for it and hope we would be reimbursed, as described by Mr. Brandy, by the police association. My nephew had gotten worse and wasn’t stable enough to travel on Saturday.” 

    He also told the media house that his nephew had received two rounds of dialysis while at the JNF Hospital and that when he was flown out to Trinidad his leg was already rotted, causing deadly toxins to attack both kidneys, which resulted in their failure.

    Harris had claimed that Dr. Wilkinson might have caused the “hold up” in getting his nephew off to Trinidad but, when contacted, Commissioner of Police Ian Queeley told SKNVibes that “Dr. Wilkinson did all that was humanly possible to assist us in flying out Constable Paquette. He had made contact with the hospital in Trinidad and did everything to get him out of the Federation, but before flying out he had to be stabilised”.

    Unfortunately, Constable Brian Pacquette died while receiving advance medical treatment in Trinidad.

    Let us now fast forward to 2018.

    Officer under investigation

    This publication was reliably informed that Constable Bijon Warner was involved in an altercation with one Gretson Isaac some time in June 2017.

    It is alleged that he had struck Isaac to the head with his service handgun, which left him unconscious and he had to seek treatment at the JN France Hospital.

    A report was subsequently made and the police had launched an investigation into the matter.

    SKNVibes had learnt that while under investigation, Constable Warner had left the Federation on two occasions; the first time for Barbados to obtain a visa, and the second time for the United States of America.

    It was also learnt that prior to his departure to the US, he had submitted his resignation from the Force but it was rejected by the High Command.

    Police press conference
      
    The High Command of the RSCNPF held a press conference on Tuesday (Jan. 16) and a number of questions were posed by members of the local media.

    Questioned by SKNVibes on the investigation into Constable Pacquette’s death, Superintendent Lyndon David said the matter “is still under investigation” and he invited Deputy Commissioner of Police Hilroy Brandy to elaborate on it.

    “The gentleman is still with the organisation. To be frank, the gentleman has absconded and is presently in the United States. The police are doing the necessary due diligence to locate exactly where and to have a warrant to be issued and have him returned to the Federation to face justice,” Brandy said.

    The Deputy Commissioner was asked the following question: “SKNVibes learnt that the officer was also under investigation for allegedly gun-butting a male civilian who had to seek medical attention overseas. It was also learnt that he had travelled to Barbados, where he obtained a visa to the USA. Therefore, since he was under investigation for two incidents, why was he allowed to depart the Federation on two different occasions?

    In response, Brandy said: “We didn’t have that information that you just referred to, and the information asked for earlier concerning a citizen who was injured by the same officer...well, the Police Force is keeping him abreast. Just two weeks ago that said individual sat in my office along with ACP James and he was given a full disclosure of the progress of the investigation and he was quite satisfied with it.”

    To this end, Commissioner Queeley said: “The matter is under investigation. You came with information that we don’t have. The information that we have is that the gentleman absconded, so it is not that he was given permission to travel. He absconded and the necessary action was taken and, yes, we have been in contact with our colleagues overseas and the matter is under investigation, simple as that.”

    Conclusively, it is public knowledge that the matter concerning Constable Pacquette’s death was referred to the Office of Professional Standards and that Constable Warner was under investigation. However, knowing that this matter is of grave concern to Pacquette’s family members and the public, why after more than 18 months it is still under investigation?

    The length of time taken for the Office of Professional Standards and sleuths to conclude their investigation smacks at slothfulness, and this can certainly lead one to conclude that there is a dichotomy between an errant member of the Police Force and a civilian accused of a criminal act with regards to the dispensation of swift justice.

    Though members of the Police High Command should be given the benefit of the doubt of being unaware of Constable Warner’s departure for Barbados to obtain a US visa, , these perceived brilliant individuals at the top rung of the hierarchal ladder had failed to anticipate his intention, knowing that he had submitted his resignation while still under investigation. 

    They should have clandestinely kept tabs on his movements and also inform trustees at the Immigration Department to be on the lookout at various ports, should he attempt to depart the Federation. But that was not to be...he outwitted them all.

    Only recently the Police High Command had issued a statement in response to what its members claimed to be false and malicious reports circulating on social media in relation to the investigation into Shaquille Pemberton’s death.

    In that statement, the Police High Command said:| “The RSCNPF holds itself and its rank and file to the highest levels of integrity, transparency and professionalism in every single investigation, and operates in a fair and ethical manner at all times – free from political directives and outside influences.” 

    Should readers of this aspect of the statement be led to believe that integrity, transparency and professionalism existed in the investigation of Constable Pacquette’s death and that of Isaac’s head injury?

    If so, then why was the public not informed of the incident between Constable Warner and civilian Isaac, but had to wait until it was brought up at a press conference some seven months later?

    Some important questions are: 

    1. Who are the members that make up the Office of Professional Standards? 
    2. Do timeframes normally be given to these individuals to complete investigations?
    3. Are they employed in other areas that take precedence over investigations?
    4. When will they complete the investigation into Constable Pacquette’s death so that the case file can be submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions for advice?
    5. Now that Constable Warner has absconded and it is known that he is somewhere in the US, will the public see his name and profile on Interpol’s wanted list?

    It is therefore incumbent upon the Commissioner of Police and other members of the High Command to speedily complete the investigations and quickly get Constable Warner back in the Federation so that justice must not only be done, but also to be seen as done.   
     

     

     

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