Paul I Jukic  03/20/2008 03:11:17 PM  From  DB/Inbox:  Search Results

Cable 
Text:                                                                      
                                                                           
      
UNCLAS        NASSAU 00069

SIPDIS
CXNASSAU:
    ACTION: AMB
    INFO:   DCM RSO POL FBI CONS

DISSEMINATION: AMB /1
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: DCM:HARDTDB
DRAFTED: POL:PIJUKIC
CLEARED: POL:DBOCONNER, RSO:ADEJONG

VZCZCBHI322
RR RUEHC RUCNCOM
DE RUEHBH #0069/01 0242146
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 242146Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY NASSAU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5142
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE

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 
--------------------- 
 
¶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. 
 
------------------- 
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. 
 
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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