BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – AN officer was recently dismissed from the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police after pleading guilty to making a false statement and discreditable conduct.
The charges stemmed from a false report the officer made while he was on duty at Government Headquarters on Church Street, Basseterre on Friday, April 30, 2010.
The officer reported that two rounds of ammunition were fired at the building, which caused him to return fire with his service revolver.
However, according to a police press release, “Investigations were carried out, which included a series of ballistic tests on the service revolver used by the said officer as well as on the single bullet recovered from the scene, As a result of the investigation, two disciplinary charges were preferred against the officer concerned, namely, making a false statement and discreditable conduct.”
SKNVibes learnt that the officer is Grenada-recruited Constable Julius Andrews.
The release also informed that the officer pleaded guilty to both charges and he was subsequently dismissed from the force.
“The Police High Command hopes that incidents of this nature will not recur and wishes to reinforce its zero tolerance on such acts of ill discipline, which are unacceptable in the Police Force,” the release stated.
It further stated that the police regret the occurrence of the incident, which created an atmosphere of heightened insecurity in the public’s mind, and “wishes to assure the residents and citizens of the Federation of its commitment to maintain discipline within its ranks and peace and security within all of our communities.”
On Saturday, May 1, 2010, a release issued by the police read, “On Friday 30th April 2010 police responded to a report of shooting which occurred at approximately 11:00 pm at Church Street in the vicinity of Government Headquarters. According to police reports shots were fired from a vehicle travelling down Church Street and the police on duty at Government Headquarters returned fire. No one has been reported injured. The scene has been processed by officers of the Crime Scene Department.”
