Teen arrested for cop assault

(CNS): A 19-year-old man was arrested yesterday on suspicion of causing GBH and damage to property, in connection with an incident last weekend in East End in which a police officer was injured. The young man remains in police custody as the investigation into the incident continues. Meanwhile, the officer from the Uniform Support Group who suffered the head injury remains in critical care in what a police spokesperson described as a serious condition. The RCIPS confirmed yesterday that he was hurt while monitoring a crowd at the Pirates Cove bar in East End. However, the management of the local bar issued a statement on Tuesday denying that the officer was hurt on the premises of the bar.

It is not clear how the officer was injured and police continue to investigate the entire circumstances, but he was hurt while monitoring the crowd that had gathered at the establishment. 

“Reports suggested around 100 people were in attendance,” the police said. “The officer was struck while he was monitoring that crowd outside the premises. He was standing directly across the street when he was struck,” the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service spokesperson added.

The USG officer and his colleagues were called to the location after local officers had first attended the scene, where burning tyres and drug use had been reported. When the officers from Bodden Town police station returned to their police patrol vehicle, they discovered that the tyres had been cut and called for back-up. It was then that the officers from USG arrived on the scene and stayed to monitor the large crowd at the Pirates Cove.  At some point, while carrying out this duty, the officer was struck on the head.

The bar issued the following statement: "The Management of Pirate's Cove Bar would like to give our sympathies to the family of the officer that was injured while on duty Saturday morning. We wish the officer a full and speedy recovery. We would like to clarify that contrary to reports made by the media, the incident did not occur on the premise of the bar. We hope that the facts of the incident will be circulated in the future rather than misinformation. We continue to corporate with the police and look forward to the speedy apprehension of the person(s) involved."

Anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident and has any information which could assist the police should contact Bodden Town police station on 947-2220, the RCIPS tip-line 949-7777 or Crime Stoppers on 800-8477(TIPS).