RIOT OVERWHELMS POLICE ON BIMINI, GOVERNMENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NASSAU 000069

SIPDIS

DS/ITA, DS/IP/WHA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL MARR BF
SUBJECT: RIOT OVERWHELMS POLICE ON BIMINI, GOVERNMENT
PROMISES FULL INVESTIGATION

REF: NASSAU 1458

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Summary
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1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Arson and rioting rocked the island of
Bimini December 22 as angry residents destroyed police
property in the wake of the fatal shooting of a local man by
police the previous night. The unrest overwhelmed local law
enforcement, with order restored only after significant
reinforcements arrived from Nassau using OPBAT helicopter
assets. The government reacted swiftly, with the Prime
Minister and Minister of National Security attending the
victim's funeral on January 5 and stressing that the Bimini
unrest would be fully investigated. The officer involved was
arraigned on manslaughter charges January 8 and released on
bail. This, and a government-convened "town hall" meeting on
Bimini January 9, did not appear to mollify island residents.
The riot underlined the limited capacity of the government
to respond to a crisis in outlying islands and OPBAT's
multi-faceted value to in supporting Bahamian law enforcement
efforts. END SUMMARY.

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Shooting Sparks Riots
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2. (SBU) According to press accounts and official
information, police shot and killed a Bimini resident during
an altercation in a bar/restaurant around midnight December

21. He was reportedly shot in the back of the head, dying in
the hospital several hours later. Angry residents gathered
later in the morning, torching police cars, boats, and
premises, possibly in an effort to prevent the departure of
the officer involved from the island. The small, eight-man
police contingent was unable to maintain order, and
authorities eventually deployed 95 police and military
reinforcements from New Providence to restore calm. At the
request of the Police Commissioner, OPBAT helicopters ferried
initial back-up forces from Nassau, preventing the situation
from getting out of hand. Bahamian government and law
enforcement authorities expressed gratitude for the
assistance, with the Minister of National Security personally
thanking the Ambassador during a January 11 courtesy call.


3. (SBU) While most media reports attributed the "uprising"
to outraged friends and relatives of the victim, some
interpreted the violence as instigated by drug and crime
groups in retaliation for the authorities' interference with
illegal activities on the island, possibly intertwined with
other local grievances. No further casualties were reported
among civilians or police, although the property damage is
expected to run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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Government Responds
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4. (SBU) The government reacted swiftly to the incident,
promising a full accounting of the events beginning with the
police shooting. Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and Minister
for National Security Tommy Turnquest attended the victim's
funeral on January 5, which occurred without incident amid
continuing heightened police presence on the island. The
Prime Minister said that the events would be fully
investigated, stressing that the country's laws must be
upheld and that all wrongdoing would be punished. Minister
Turnquest promised that no stone would be left unturned in
the inquiry into the officer's conduct. The Bimini killing
was the third fatal shooting incident involving police in six
weeks, with the other two occurring separately in Nassau in
November 2007; all remain under investigation.


5. (SBU) The officer involved in the Bimini shooting was
placed on immediate administrative leave, according to usual
procedure, but was speedily arraigned on manslaughter charges
in Nassau on January 8, without a coroner's inquest into
events that would normally constitute an interim step in the
investigative process. The officer was subsequently released
on bail. At a government-convened "town hall" meeting on
Bimini January 9, irate residents expressed displeasure with
the government's actions in response to the shooting,
including the officer's release on bail. The Prime Minister
and five cabinet ministers, accompanied by the head of the
recently-appointed "National Crime Council" (see reftel),
Bishop Simeon Hall, and the MP representing the constituency
in parliament, Obie Wilchcombe, met for two hours with
residents who did not appear mollified by the government's
attention according to news reports.

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Comment
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6. (SBU) With its proximity to the Florida coastline, Bimini
is the last stop on the lucrative, island-hopping drug and
migrant trafficking routes, and has earned a well-deserved
reputation as a smugglers' paradise and outpost of
lawlessness. Bahamian authorities and the DEA have found the
island, with its small, closely related population, to be the
most difficult area in which to operate. More broadly, the
Bimini riot underscored the limited capacity of the central
government to respond to a crisis in, and assert its
authority over, outlying islands in a crisis situation. The
events also showed once again that the U.S. presence provided
through Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT) remains
indispensable to the security and stability of the Bahamas.
SIEGEL