St. Vincent’s Commissioner of Police Colin John said he would continue to support his police officers until there is evidence to show otherwise.
John made the remarks on Boom FM’s OMG morning show in response to a question from host Dwight Joseph, who pointed out that the public’s reaction to Cjea Weekes’ murder does not bode well for the police force’s image.
“Commissioner, people feel as if you are defending the situation with the officers that have been involved in this matter and that you’re not being fully transparent and accountable on this issue,” Joseph said.
The Commissioner, in his response, stated the following:
“I have very good police officers; I have a few who would fall short, but once the evidence before me is that my police officers did not commit any wrongdoing, I would support them to the hilt.”
“I would stick out my neck for them, and based on what I have seen so far in this matter, I am supporting my police officers until I have evidence to the contrary,” John said.
When Joseph inquired if he felt the optics were correct, John replied,
“What do you want me to do, jump on the public bandwagon and bash my officers for no reason, and I don’t have any evidence to back it up?”
According to John, the case file has been delivered to the DPP’s office, and all that remains is for the coroners to designate when an inquiry will take place.
“There are other matters before the court; I know that this matter is attracting serious attention and that people would like to hear about it, but there are other matters before the court, so I cannot speak to the timetable or when they would set this matter to be heard,” John explained.
Unsatisfied with John’s response, Joseph asked if he (John) could not speed up the process in view of the public outcry.
“I stay in my own lane.” “I don’t have the authority to dictate when they (the coroner) should set a date for this or for that,” John said.
Sunday, March 6, 2023, would mark one year since Cjea Weekes, an 18-year-old whose mother claimed police allegedly ran him over on February 2, 2022, died.
Natasha Weekes stated her son was paralyzed from the chest down and had a shattered leg and spine as a result of the altercation with the police.
On Monday, February 7, 2022, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said on Star Radio that Cjea died in unfortunate circumstances and that the truth is vital in the situation.
