Police Commissioner Severin Monchery opened his interview on Newsspin earlier this week on a high note: “I must say that over the past few weeks the police have been doing a very great job. I must commend them because they’ve taken quite a few guns off the streets.”
The police have made several arrests, most of them gun-related. To list the most recent: Noah Alex Valcin (25) and Scion Gills (26) were both charged with causing the death of Shalomn Cyril, and for the attempted murder of Sheldon Lucien earlier this month. On October 18, Jalix Howell (18) was arrested and charged with causing the death of Burke Baptiste (28), while Earnie Charles (43), Kervin Hutchinson (42), and Sherquille Rosemain (26), were arrested and charged with the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The fugitive Stanley ‘Coco Boy’ Marshall was returned to Bordelais Thursday afternoon after several weeks on the run. But while these arrests are commendable, the respective anniversaries of the deaths of two individuals is what concerns the public. Last Wednesday marked the sixth anniversary of Chakadan Daniel’s death at the hands of the police—a death determined by a coroner’s court to be unlawful.
Next Tuesday, October 29, will be the first anniversary of Kimberly de Leon’s death, a case still shrouded in mystery and controversy—with accusatory fingers pointed in the direction of the police. Kimberly was the wife of a ranking police offer. She was shot in the head as she prepared for bed. Her two children were at home at the time; her husband was not. All the police will say now about the case is that “the files are with the DPP’s office”.
Then there is 17-year old Arnold Joseph, fatally shot by police earlier this year in circumstances most unclear. Meanwhile, according to the police there are some 500 unresolved criminal cases on their books, most of them homicides!
