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‘The Nation’s Singing Bishop’ as he is affectionately called, now has two titles and you may see an overlap.

Prophet Lawrence Rolle, a Pentecostal preacher, became a member of the Royal Bahamas Police Force after three months of training. As a reservist, he will be called on to join forces alongside full-time officers of the RBPF.

Rolle’s other job title is pastor of International Deliverance Praying Ministries. He leads people to Jesus and runs a weekly food outreach programme where he cooks and feeds the poor in his community. His charismatic personality has spurned thousands of fans because of his outreach, stage theatrics, and social media spiritual messages and counsel.

As the country counters rising crime and violence, Rolle may invoke his spirituality as a part-time police officer.

And as the gap between the police force and members of the public widen at times, Rolle, coming from an Over-the-Hill community, may help to bridge the divide between the RBPF and the public.

Rolle now wears a uniform with a red badge to show the distinction as a reserve, and he would be required to assist full-time officers, and attend official parades and lectures.

Reserves come from all walks of life with various professions, with a desire to assist the police in the fight against crime.

It is not known whether or not Rolle will be placed on the streets to fight crime, but for now, the tough job of police might be a lot like his toughest job as a pastor and community leader.

Residents in the Bacardi area can breathe a sigh of relief after police arrested a 27-year-old man believed to be responsible for several sexual assaults in the area.

Police used a detailed sketch to track down the alleged predator and found him in possession of a vehicle used in one of the sexual crimes.

A woman was walking in the area on Monday morning around 10 am, when a man driving a grey vehicle pulled along her, forcing her into the vehicle, carrying her to nearby bushes and raping her.

When captured at his residence in Lincoln Boulevard, the police revealed the man is on bail for murder and armed robbery.

“Officers also recovered the alleged vehicle utilized in the commission of the crimes along with a loaded pistol.

The sexual assault followed the assault of 32 and 34-year-old women who were at home when a predator reportedly climbed through a window around 2 am, held them at gunpoint, robbed them of cash, sexually assaulted them then escaped in their vehicle, a red Nissan Note.

Authorities warned that sexual assault cases have increased when compared to last year and requested women, particularly in the Carmichael Road area to be vigilant.

Police increased saturation patrols in southwestern New Providence to handle the startling criminal trend.

The discovery of a boy in a pond at Oaks Field Golf Academy was shocking. Even more troubling was he remained unidentified for a few days while police pleaded with the public to name the boy found submerged in waters, dressed only in underwear.

Tuesday, August 2

Around 5:35 in the afternoon, a group of boys known for constantly using the pond for swimming, found a lifeless body submerged in the water. They alerted a parent who then called the police to access and examine the findings.

Police retrieved the body and found that the deceased boy appeared to be a preteen—between 10-12 years old; and wore only underwear.

Authorities warned that the parent would face criminal charges if they neglected the child.

Wednesday, August 3

Police returned to the scene to plead to the family to identify the boy. They revealed he may be of Haitian descent and appealed to the Haitian community to name him.

Police say the state will bury him if no one comes forward.

Thursday, August 4

Around 10 am, a woman shows up and helps to solve the mystery of the missing teen. She files a missing person report at Central Investigation Department. She is believed to be the mother of the boy.

Friday, August 5

The boy is named: Gerodo Atwill Taylor of Amos Ferguson Street. He is confirmed to be 11 years old.

Monday, August 8

The mother, Stephanie Hanna, 42, of Exuma Street, is charged with child neglect and faces two counts of cruelty to children. She denied the charges and was given bail of $7,000. She returns to court on November 14 when her trial is expected to begin.

Photo credit: The Nassau Guardian

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force rescued two nationals of Turks and Caicos, stranded at sea.

The fishermen were spotted off Great Inagua in a 27 ft fishing vessel, drifting approximately 7 miles west of the island.

A US Police patrol vessel and Defence Force Marines boarded the vessel to investigate.

The men said they were stranded at sea for 8 days after experiencing engine problems.

They are reported to be in fair health and were escorted to Matthew Town, to a medical facility to receive medical attention before being handed over to Immigration officials for further processing.

Featured image: RBDF

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force distributed bags of groceries to assist retired officers of the force and the families of marine officers who died.

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force Veterans Association teamed up with the force’s Veterans Affair Department to distribute over 100 parcels to provide relief to its members affected by the hardships of COVID-19.

Spearheaded by President of the Veterans Association, Chief Petty Officer (Retired) Harold Bosfield said, “During these times of uncertainty, we thought it fitting to provide some relief of need, hardship or distress to our members.

“It is but a little gesture, but as a former member of the Defence Force, we are still one family.”

Commodore Raymond King commended the RBDF Veterans Association for their support to veterans and former comrades.

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force Rangers are giving back in the form of community service.

They offered assistance to the Coral Harbour community in a clean-up effort, trimming trees off the sidewalks and removing unwanted debris from the main Coral Harbour stretch.

Chief Petty Officer (CPO) Dwight Rolle said, “Overall, it was a great learning experience for the young Rangers. They were excited about grasping the concept of giving back to the community.”

The RBDF Rangers program consist of junior and senior high school students.

One man was killed and two marines of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force were injured in a boating accident in Andros on Monday night. One of the officers is in a comatose state.

What we know

• The officers were in a private boat.
• The 16 feet vessel hit a reef of Moxey Town, Andros around 8 pm.
• The three men were ejected from the vessel, all men sustained injuries
• The vessel was badly damaged, and two Marines were rescued by local fishermen, who transported them to the clinic in Mangrove Cay for medical treatment.
• The other man who is a resident of Andros succumbed to his injuries.
• The marines were airlifted to New Providence for treatment. One of them is alert but the other marine is unconscious.

What we don’t know

• The identity of the men are not known

Police said they were notified of the incident after 12 midnight. They are investigating the matter further.

As rumours swirl surrounding the death of a marine officer, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pearl McMillan said three or four deaths are being investigated for COVID-19.

During the COVID-19 Update, Dr. McMillan said health officials face challenges in COVID-19 death classification.

“The difficulty is getting all of the information to determine whether  or not a case that was not outright a COVID-19, fits within that…on the death certificate if COVID19 will be the major cause that contributed to that death.”

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force issued condolences for Leading Mechanic Livingston Pratt, who passed away on Thursday. Now many are speculating that his death was related to COVID-19, as the number of cases among law enforcement officers climb.

Dr. McMillan said three cases in Grand Bahama had to be reviewed by officials and those cases were added to the dashboard for the total coronavirus deaths.

She said a committee is reviewing the contributing factors of the three additional deaths to concretize whether or not they were COVID-19 deaths or COVID19 associated deaths.

Last-week the Ministry of Health confirmed three additional COVID-19 related deaths. The total COVID deaths now stands at 14.