Bermuda probes cop suicide
(CNS): The death of a police officer who is believed to have taken his own life is being investigated by police officers from Bermuda. Police Constable Raphael Williams’ body was found in the bush area of East End on Sunday 12 January, two days after the 45-year-old officer was released on bail, having been arrested on suspicion of blackmail and breach of trust. Police Commissioner David Baines is said to have ordered an independent review of the circumstances surrounding the arrest and the subsequent death of the officer, which the RCIPS has now confirmed began on Tuesday with the arrival of officers from the Bermuda Police Service.
“It is normal practice in the UK and in other jurisdictions that such circumstances would be subject toindependent review,” said Baines. “I felt it was important to ensure that the RCIPS also adopts this approach to ensure that all aspects of the arrest and death are reviewed in an open, transparent and independent way. The enquiry team will outline their findings in a report to the Commissioner of the Bermuda Police Service who will in then make the findings available to Governor Helen Kilpatrick,” he said. It was anticipated that the report would also be made public, he said.
Williams was arrested on Thursday 9 January on suspicion of blackmail and breach of trust but he was not identified publicly. Few details for the reason for the arrest were revealed but it is understood that Williams was not trying to extort cash. Suspended from duty, he was released on police bail on Friday 10 January and two days later he hanged himself. When his body was discovered, the immediate local police investigation determined that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death as it appeared to be suicide.
A memorial service will take place for Williams on Saturday 1 February at the Victory Tabernacle Church of God Prophecy in George Town at 3pm ahead of the funeral in Jamaica next week.
Category: Crime
In the UK it is normal standard practice for other forces around the country to investigate others ie the Met will look into West Midlands etc, no matter how 'independent' that may be. Here you don't have that luxury, it's RCIPS only. Forgot about the cost for once, it's a drop in the ocean. People always gotta moan about something …
Then get Bermuda to investigate matters relating to Baines. Example, allegations of mowing down the robbery suspect etc.
Hat's off to you David!
It's not easy sitting in the CoP seat, so it must be applauded that your efforts are indeed positively impacting change in Cayman. What is often lost in folks' reality check is that change doesn't come easy nor overnight.
Keep at it!
Oh yes, it's definitely hard sitting in the CoP seat – that huge salary has to be spent somehow and somewhere… And that air-conditioned office is just too darn big and impersonal for one person. "Change doesn't come overnight"… I mean, you've only had 5 years or so to make changes – what do these people expect, miracles? Silly islanders, dem and deir expectations!
Does anone know who is paying for this investigation by the Bermua Police?
Yes, you and only will pay sucker……. Stop whining, if it was being investigated by RCIP you'd have some other shit to complain about.
muppet…Lord forgive 20.16, he knows not what he does, or says..get a life, it happened here, RCIPs has to investigate and if they wish to, under the spirit of cooperation, RCIPS can accept officers wishing to attend from his home country.
RIP Willie.
In other jurisdictions when officers are arrested on serious offences they must attend IMMEDIATELY mandatory physco-analysis. With that said; Who is suing the RCIPS for damages?
#improvethesystem
regards,
Jacque Rousseau
I assume this lawsuit will be filed in the Court of made up law?
Really.
Name one jurisdiction.
I can tell you for a fact, it's not the case in the UK, USA or anywhere in Europe
Where do you get this bull crap from? By other jurisdictions do you mean Cuba or Venezuela?
In the rest of the free world anyone arrested, be they a police officer or not, is entitled to legal representation and once they have secured that they should listen to the best legal advice they can get.
To take a suspect, any suspect, and subject them to psychoanalysis is a sure recipe for acquittal. Of course, this "physco-analysis" that you refer to could be something entirely different.
Amen . Let the truth be told.
Is he also going to bring in outside officers to investigate the incident he was involved in on New Year's Day?
He was a hero on that day, no time and money should be wasted on investigation….. What are some of you idiots saying? That he might have set the whole thing up?….. Go teach your criminal family something ethical instead of encouraging them in criminality.
The commissioner is Myyyyyyyy Hero!!!!
I totally agree!
You have asked the question i wanted to ask. I do not for one minute believe that there is an investigation against the COP for the NYD incident; no look at it – is sub-ordinates investigating him. Recently there was a need for a police chief in Guyana and a outside investigator was brought in from Jamaica to conduct the probe; no conflict, no strings attached.
Use one stone and kill two birds – get Bermuda to investigate the two incidents.
Lot of thumbs down for a perfectly reasonable observation. Whilst a death is far more serious than an injury, the governance issues are the ame – for the police to investigate situations where their own conduct may be thrown into question requires demonstrated neutrality of the investigators to be credible. How the actions of the COP can be credibly investigated by officers in his own chain of command completely escapes me. This is not the same as saying he did anything worng – its that if there is an investigation, it has to be independent to be credible – otherwise its a complete waste of time. I might add that for such a straightforward matter it seems somewhat suprising that, having announced an investigation, here we are weeks later and there is no report on its outcome.
Diogenes, that's because people in the Cayman Islands have no idea how policing works in the real world.
The area should have been sealed immediately then treated like a crime scene but it wasn't and nothing was done for nearly a week. In fact it almost looks like any usable evidence was deliberately compromised.
If the guy he hit is acquited lawyers will be queuing up to sue RCIPS and there's nothing they can do but pay up.
I like that but that just goes to show what kind of people we have here in Cayman, worried about is goiong to pay for it. The CoP ran over someone and told the British tabloids that he "slipped" under his car, but all we hearing is, officers at the RCIPS will be looking into the incident.
What do you expect to hear from that, he was guilty??? We wont, because he/she will targety and forced out of the service.
An independent investigation should be done regardless. If it was your son, brother, uncle, father was ran over that wouldnt a question asked or looked upon.
An offence was commit i agree 100%, but the question that really has to be answered which hasnt yet is, was the use of force proportionate???? Can anyone reading this post truly say the actions of the CoP were proportionate????? No, you want to know why?, the criminal is still hospitalize from the 1st of January 2014 and today is the 31st January…