Man shot dead by police in Cave Hill

A man was shot and killed by police during a patrol in Cave Hill, St Michael, on Monday afternoon, triggering renewed anger among residents who allege heavy-handed policing in a neighbourhood already grieving from recent violence.

Police Communications and Public Affairs Officer, Acting Inspector of the Barbados Police Service, Ryan Brathwaite, confirmed the incident occurred around 12:45 p.m. along Cave Hill Main Road.

Brathwaite told reporters on the scene: “Our initial investigations have shown that a police patrol comprising police and Barbados Defence Force personnel was on mobile patrol duty when they encountered a male acting suspiciously.

“Police stopped the vehicle, and the male looked in their direction and ran away. He was pursued, and as he was being pursued, he drew a firearm and engaged the police and was shot. Assistance was immediately sought from personnel of the ambulance service, and they arrived, examined the body, and said that there were no signs of life. A medical doctor subsequently visited the scene, examined the body and pronounced death.”

Inspector Brathwaite also confirmed that a firearm was recovered at the scene. He said: “Investigations are continuing into the matter. We’re appealing to anyone who may have been in the area and witnessed this incident to please contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-8477, police emergency at 211, or the District A police station at 430-7246 or 430-7242.”

The incident has stirred frustration among some residents, who believe the dead man had been unjustly targeted.

One man, who said he witnessed part of the chase, told Barbados TODAY: “No one actually saw the initial shooting, but we saw the interaction of the person being run down. It’s totally unfair. We [don’t want] people saying we out here doing nonsense. We out here selling breadfruits and bananas and vegetables and things just to earn a little dollar and keep weself cool.”

He added that the community has already been grappling with violence, recalling Gavin Nicholas Archer, 24, of Well Gap, Cave Hill, St Michael, who was killed on June 22, after gunmen on bikes rode through the area and fired shots.

He said: “We had a tragic situation [recently] where guys pass and kill one we own the same way, and here comes the police to kill somebody again to put me back in our tragic situation we fighting to get out of. It’s not right.”

(SB)