NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – National Security Minister Wayne Munroe is assuring the public that the police will undertake a thorough investigation into the death of a man allegedly by an off-duty police officer after a video of the incident began circulating on social media.
“Any aspect of criminal behavior is wrong and bad, and the police will investigate this.” Munroe told reporters outside the Parliament building, adding “we recruit from the population and the law enforcement officers face the same challenges that other people in the public do, and they go where they do, and they’re subject to the same things.
“The police will, at the end of the day, make a fulsome statement to the press before the matter proceeds further,” he said.
Police said that the incident occurred during the early hours of Wednesday at a bar when the off-duty officer shot a man during an altercation, which resulted in the victim being grazed in the head.
Police said three men, ages 21, 23, and 28, were stabbed during the incident, and “while outside the establishment, a male suspect reportedly confronted and engaged an off-duty police officer, where a struggle ensued.
“Consequently, the officer’s service weapon was discharged, resulting in the male being shot [and] grazed to the head,” the police said, adding that one of the stabbing victims, a 23-year-old, later died in hospital.
Videos of the violent incident were widely circulated on social media. It showed a man holding another man by the collar with a gun pointed at his face. The victim swung at the man, and the gun went off. The victim was seen falling to the ground.
The dead man has since been identified as Ashantio Clevorn Johnson, 23, a recent graduate of the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.
In a statement, the Department described Johnson’s death as a “tremendous loss,” and his sister, Sergeant Clendina Johnson Smith, said she learned of the attack after her father called her to check on her brother. Johnson’s death marked the 71st murder of the year.
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