PM Anthony
Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony has released the main findings of an independent Jamaican team’s investigations into the 2009-2011 extra-judicial killings by the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force, confirming that the force worked from a “black list or death list” of persons deemed criminals and officers staged all shooting-death sites to legitimise their actions.
In his 27-minute address to the nation via radio and television on Sunday, March 8, Prime Minister Anthony said the report of the investigators are “extremely damning” and “brings home the extreme gravity of this matter”.
He said these findings relate not only to those officers who were involved in the operations, but members of the “high command of the police force” who may have been involved in “covering up these matters”.
Dr. Anthony explained: “The report confirms that the black list or death list referenced by the media, human rights organisations, victims, families and citizens alike did exist. More alarmingly, the investigators report that all the shootings reviewed were fake encounters staged by the police to legitimise their actions.
“Further, that the weapons supposedly found on the scene of the alleged ‘extra-judicial killings’ were from sources other than the victims. The investigators say the weapons were ‘planted on the scene of the shootings’. The investigators also advised that ‘a number of shootings were done by police officers and are listed on the murder statistic as being done by unknown assailants’.
“Revealingly, the report suggests that ‘the crime problem in St. Lucia is facilitated by corrupt politicians, government officials, business persons and the police officers’.”
The prime minister said the investigators also reported that during the investigation some senior officers did not cooperate with them.
“They reported that the main server of the computers used by some members of the high command of the police force was deliberately tampered with. In two instances, the operating systems of the computers were altered to place the supposed contents ‘beyond the timeline of the investigation or probe’,” he said.
The prime minister said he cannot recommend charges against those that have been fingered in the investigations, but the report will be passed on to the Director of Public Prosecution for consideration.
“The matter of pursuing criminal charges is the preserve of the Director of Public Prosecutions and it is she who will pronounce on the same once her actions are consistent with our constitution. Our constitution enshrines three separate arms of the state: the executive, legislative and the judicial. I will not allow the executive, which I lead, to transgress the province of the other two arms. I intend to fully continue respecting that sacred separation.
“The probe has also recommended that some senior police officers be held accountable for their actions or for their failure to take appropriate action when the alleged killings occurred. The investigators also concluded that what operated during the period under review ‘was an environment of impunity and permissiveness designed to achieve the desired results. Willful blindness existed in respect of the commissioner of police and the particular members of his leadership and management team’.”
“The investigators have recommended that ‘all police officers involved in the unlawful killings of citizens in respect of the files reviewed must be prosecuted’. In all, the investigators made some 31 recommendations, many of which touched on the managements and administration of the police force.
“I have already said, and I repeat it here, that it is not for me personally or the government collectively or any minister individually to make any judgment about the innocence or guilt of anyone who may be implicated by the findings of this report. The question whether anyone is to be prosecuted is solely for the Director of Public Prosecutions’ to determine after evaluating and assessing the probative value of the evidence placed before her.
“Likewise it is for the courts to pronounce on the innocence or guilt of any person who may be charged. The most that the executive arm of the government can do is to provide the resources to the Director of Public Prosecutions to carry out the duties and the responsibilities assigned to her by our constitution. A copy of the report has now been made available to her.
“For the above reasons, save for some administrative adjustments that have now become necessary in the high command of the police force, I am not here, nor will I order that police officers be charged or dismissed or offered packages to retire from the police force.”
The alleged extra-judicial killings by police officers were carried during “Operation Restore Confidence” – an initiative then Prime Minister Stephenson King announced on May 30, 2010 in an address to the nation.
The police operation was in response to an unprecedented wave of homicides and violent crimes between 2008 and 2010, particularly in the northern half of the island, Dr. Anthony said.
Between 2010 and 2011, 12 persons were killed during encounters with officers of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force.
The United States (US), citing human rights concerns, took action against the St. Lucia police force and the government.
The US ceased all financial and technical assistance to the St. Lucia Coast Guard. In addition, the Government of St. Lucia was banned from purchasing ammunition from the US for its American-made weapons.
Members of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force could no longer participate in any training programme sponsored or financed by the United States. Police officers were also denied participation in training activities in the Regional Security System (RSS), once the training programme was sponsored or financed by the United States.
There were still more consequences. The visa of the former Deputy Commissioner of Police, Moses Charles, who led the special task force during Operation Restore Confidence, was revoked. Commissioner of Police, Vernon Francois, was denied entry to the US, even to attend security meetings with officials of the US.
Francois’ visa was however not revoked.
Responding to the US sanctions, and in a bid to have them removed, the St. Lucia government had to show proof that it is taking corrective steps to deal with the situation, Dr. Anthony said.
As such, the government secured, through the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), the services of a team of investigators from the Jamaican Constabulary Force to investigate all instances of alleged “extra judicial killings” by members of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force.
The team comprised eight investigators including a ballistic expert, a legal advisor, a data entry specialist, a cyber-crime analyst, and detective investigators.
“Since the receipt of the report, the Cabinet of Ministers has been studying its implications and recommendations. A copy of the report has also been shared with the United States Government,” the prime minister said.