Fatal stabbing tests purpose of Haynesville outpost

Just over a month after the Haynesville police outpost reopened amid promises of stronger community presence and crime prevention, a fatal stabbing directly behind the facility has left residents questioning whether the tragedy could have been prevented.

On Tuesday afternoon, 38-year-old Andre Sylvester Maynard of Redmans Village, St Thomas, was killed in close proximity to the refurbished outpost.

The incident brought the number of murders recorded in Barbados for the year to 25. 

By evening, small groups had gathered in the area, discussing the incident within sight of the outpost that had been promoted only weeks earlier as a renewed symbol of reassurance and public safety in the district.

Family members of the deceased declined to comment, saying they were too hurt and angry.

President and founder of the Haynesville Youth Club, Peter Skeete, described the incident as “really unfortunate” but quickly noted that the community was not gripped by gang warfare.

“There’s no gang activity in the Haynesville community,” Skeete told Barbados TODAY. “I think what transpired there was an individual act of retaliation.”

According to Skeete, the conflict between the two men had reportedly been escalating for days and allegedly stemmed from a domestic dispute.

Still, he admitted the proximity of the killing to the police outpost weighed heavily on many residents.

“Only a couple weeks ago, the police officer was indicating that they’re gonna have a presence back at the police post.

“It’s only sad to see that no one was there today and the situation happened almost right below the police post itself,” Skeete said.

While stressing that he was not blaming police for the killing, he said visible community policing can sometimes help prevent confrontations from escalating into deadly violence.

“That’s why you need presence sometimes in the community so that you can nip these things in the bud,” he said.

For some residents, however, the issue went beyond police presence.

“When these people get vex, you can’t tell them come back,” one resident said. “I don’t think things would have been different [if the police were there].”

Witnesses told Barbados TODAY that bottles were thrown after a disturbance broke out nearby. One of the bottles reportedly shattered, causing injuries to a child’s elbow and back.

The child was transported to a medical facility for treatment while police maintained a heightened presence in the area.

Though he believed visibility alone would not have prevented the tragedy, the resident admitted deeper social action was urgently required.

“More targeted intervention is needed. There’s only so much Peter Skeete can do,” he said, linking many of the problems facing vulnerable young men to unstable home environments, lack of supervision and growing exposure to drugs and block culture.

The debate over what role the outpost could realistically play intensified after some residents claimed the facility had remained largely inactive since its reopening ceremony last month.

When contacted, Senior Superintendent Lesteal Woodroffe, who heads the Northern Division, firmly rejected those claims.

Woodroffe explained that officers use the outpost as a base for patrols and community outreach rather than remaining stationed inside throughout the day.

“That is not true. I can assure you that the post is open and the police operate from the post.

“The post is open daily. They leave the post, go out in the community and come back at a later hour,” he said.

Woodroffe explained that officers were not at the outpost when the stabbing occurred because they were elsewhere in the district conducting patrols and outreach activities.

Addressing suggestions that the killing may have been prevented had officers been present, Woodroffe said such claims ultimately came down to perception.

When the outpost reopened just over a month ago, Minister of Legal Affairs and Criminal Justice Michael Lashley described it as a symbol of reassurance at a time of growing national concern over violent crime.

He had also pledged immediate and sustained action to tackle violence and hotspot activity across Barbados.

Yet, even as investigators combed the area Tuesday evening, activities in the community continued.

Skeete said around 25 young people attended dance classes at the nearby pavilion hours after the killing.

“We still need to continue with our work engaging young people in positive activities,” he said.

(SM)