commissionerofpoliceclaytonfernander

Shanta Knowles is named the new Commissioner of Police following the surprised resignation of Clayton Fernander in the wake of a US indictment of senior law enforcement officers.

Prime Minister Philip Davis announced Fernander’s resignation in the House of Assembly on Wednesday. This comes as public cries grow loud amid law enforcement officers’ indictment for conspiracy to transport cocaine out of the Bahamas and into the United States. The officers will stand trial in a New York court.

This is one of many allegations of corruption, plaguing the organization.

Knowles will be the country’s first woman Commissioner of Police.

Here’s what to know about her:

1. Before the new position, she was the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Grand Bahama & Northern Bahamas. She was the Commander of the Grand Bahama and Northern Bahamas Division.
2. Knowles also served as the press liaison officer in New Providence.
3. She has been a member of the Royal Bahamas Police Force for the past 33 years.
4. Knowles served 28 years in criminal investigation and has managed the sexual offenses squad and the Trafficking in Person’s squad.
5. During the period 2017-2020, ACP Knowles served as the Director of the National Crime Prevention Office.
6. She was the first woman to head the Criminal Investigation Department, where she was responsible for the investigation of major crimes in the country.

The US indictment of senior law enforcement officers in the Bahamas alleging cocaine transport conspiracy has reached London.

Former Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle alluded that the charges brought by the US Southern District of New York implicating 11 Bahamians, including Chief Superintendent Elvis Curtis and Defence Force Chief Petty Officer Darren Roker in helping drug traffickers to smuggle tons of cocaine through The Bahamas from South America to the United States, are embarrassing.

Rolle, who once served as Commissioner from March 2020 to July 2022 is presently the Bahamas ambassador to the International Maritime Organization in London.

“How do you think I feel when everywhere I turn here in London people are talking about it? They are talking about this thing that happened with the police officers. Every newspaper you look at, it’s there.

“So, we have to continue to be our brother’s keeper and let us try and preserve and salvage what little reputation we have left,” he told the Nassau Guardian.

During a national address on Sunday, Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander said he had a conversation with Rolle to get a comprehensive look at the activities involving the serious case, which reportedly began in May 2021 when Rolle was in office. “I have already initiated consultations with key individuals who held leadership roles during that period,” Fernander said.

But Rolle said Fernander’s comments “hurt and disappointed” him.

“I don’t support corruption in any form,” Rolle said. I can say categorically I have never been involved in any kind of corruption.

“I was quite disappointed when I heard his comment because it does not adequately and accurately address the conversation which we had and it gives the impression as though he spoke to me in a different form, as a suspect.

“That was never the case.”

Fernander and Rolle share a frosty relationship. Rolle was appointed by the Minnis administration and Fernander was appointed by the Davis administration.

Soon after, Rolle was given the position as ambassador to the International Maritime Organization in London.

Speaking of the call which he said took place last Friday night, “I thought it was a cordial conversation. He asked for my opinion on something and I told him that I thought…he needs to focus on addressing the image of the police force. That was the essence of it.”

Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander vows to find the person responsible for the death of a girl found in bushes on Wednesday evening near Anatol Rodgers School, Faith Avenue South.

Police believe the girl is 12-year-old Adriel Moxey who disappeared Monday when she did not return home after attending Junkanoo practice.

The girl was found half-naked wearing only a top, and a white cloth was tied tightly around her neck, Fernander said.

“We will leave no stone unturned until we find the individual. I take this personally,” a visibly upset Fernander said on the scene.

An operation team and investigators have already canvassed the area and can identify the suspect in the case, he said.

“We will move quickly on that information. We believe we are on the right track with the information we are receiving at this time.”

The Royal Bahamas Police Force issued the Marco Alert on Wednesday afternoon, and soon after, her body was discovered after officers used drones, canine dogs, and foot patrol in the area.

Her body was found down a poorly lit, rocky track road, lying on its back, Fernander said.

Adreil lives in the area and is a student of Anatol Rodgers Junior School.

She was believed to be walking after school, and friends reported that she was expected to make it home around 6 p.m., but she never arrived.

Her mother, Sasha Moxey, told Eye Witness News that it is not unusual for Adriel to make her way home by 7 p.m. after attending Junkanoo practice or a track meet after school.

When she did not arrive home, the family grew alarmed and filed a missing person report.

Her mother pleaded for her safe return but was hit with the harsh reality by evening.

“The person who has her, please send my daughter home,” the distraught mother lamented Wednesday afternoon.

Her cries were heard after the discovery. The girl’s father was also on the scene.

“That individual who is responsible, should not spend another hour out there,” Fernander said.

If you have any information to help detectives, you are asked to contact CID 502-9991/2.

After Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander revealed that more than 170 people were on bail for murder, Prime Minister Philip Davis expressed shock, estimating that it could take ten years to get them through the court system.

A triple murder in Fox Hill on Monday has loudened cries for the government to revoke bail for suspects involved in murder cases. The gunmen were reportedly looking for a man who was on bail but instead shot three other men on the scene. Their target escaped and is now in police custody.

Fernander has categorized this latest murder as a retaliatory killing, then revealed that 178 young men are on bail for murder, expressing fear that the murder count, which stands at 102, could surge as a result.

“If we don’t address that, to get some of those individuals behind bars for their safety, some other people will die. We don’t want any innocent people to get caught up in that.”

Davis in response said, “That’s an overwhelming statistic – over 170 persons out of bail for murder.

“And that’s only what is already in the system. Every so often, more are added to that number. The system can only accommodate so many. These trials are taking more than two and three months. So, we have 170 trials that are outstanding. What does that mean? That’s almost ten years to clean it up.”

Leader of the Free National Movement Michael Pintard called on the government to take immediate action.

“The government appears lost, unable to act alone or work with community partners to stop the violence that’s devastating our communities. Their lack of coordination or urgency to address these tragedies is only fueling fear and anxiety about what may happen tomorrow.

“This is not the time for paralysis. Now is the time for action.”

Pintard suggested that the government speed up trials because “it takes too long to go to trial in serious cases, especially for murder”; and restore public trust in a system that many perceive does not work for victims.

Davis said the government has brought on more judges for faster trials to take place but believes the public won’t see the effect of changes, immediately.

Despite a force bolstered with officers from the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Turks and Caicos continue to grapple with crime, including a triple murder in which a 3-year-old boy was killed.

The British territory reached out to the Bahamas for assistance when 15 killings in five weeks rocked the British Territory. But has much improved since the arrival of 24 Bahamian police officers?

The latest murders occurred early Tuesday morning when a man, woman and child were discovered in a car in the Dock Yard area. The fourth victim, a 7-year-old girl who survived the attack, was found bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound. She is receiving medical care for her injuries.

Turks and Caicos Commissioner of Police Trevor Botting said his team and officers from the Bahamas and UK are investigating the “vicious, barbaric act” committed by the “heartless” criminals.

“They do not care about life,” he said.

On Monday, a man was found dead in the area of Parker’s Yard, Blue Hills, killed by gunfire.

And Sunday, a woman was shot while driving her vehicle in Millenium Heights, Blue Hills. Another vehicle stopped her and shot into her car. She was treated for a gunshot wound to the shoulder.

Last week Saturday, another man was shot in the Dock Yard area. He survived the gun attack and was treated for the injuries.

And last Wednesday, one man died on the scene where he and another man were found bleeding profusely suffering from gunshot wounds in the vicinity of James Stubbs, Leeward Highway. The surviving victim sustained injuries to the left side of his body.

In October when a US tourist was killed while in a vehicle returning from an excursion, Botting summed it up that the killings were connected to an ongoing gang feud.

As the British territory’s murder rate spirals out of control, Botting met with Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander on Saturday in the Bahamas, to further deepen relations with the RBPF, he said.

Turks and Caicos’ murder count now stands at 32 for the year.

Photo credit: TCIPF