President of SLPWA Camron Laure.
President of the Saint Lucia Police Welfare Association (SLPWA) Camron Laure has said that the IMPACS report on the alleged 2009-2011 extra-judicial killings should be made available to the police.
The SLPWA head said while he understands that Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony has given reasons why the report cannot be released at this time, he said the police officers who were investigated needs to know the full outcome.
“I think the police officers need to the opportunity to know exactly what the allegations are against them…they need to allow them the opportunity to defend what ever allegations are made against them,” Laure told St. Lucia News Online (SNO) today.
Laure said he hopes that this could be done soon. “There are many allegations that have to be proven. We need to look at all of the evidence, so we can understand how they came about with those recommendations,” he added.
Asked whether he thinks the report is authentic or the agency that carried out the investigation was credible, the SLPWA president said he cannot speak to that issue, as he is not aware how they went about their investigations.
Laure said the SLPWA will stand in support of the officers until the end.
The main findings into the killings, confirms that the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) worked from a “black list or death list” of persons deemed criminals and officers staged all shooting-death sites to legitimise their actions.
The report also states that not only normal officers were involved in the operations, but members of the “high command of the police force” may have been involved in “covering up these matters”.
More alarmingly, the investigators report said that all the shootings reviewed were fake encounters staged by the police to legitimise their actions.
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.
Between 2010 and 2011, 12 persons were killed during encounters with officers of the RSLPF.