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 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶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. -------------- Shooting Sparks Riots -------------- ¶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 �0A;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. -------------- Government Responds -------------- ¶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. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶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