The Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) is being accused of giving the star treatment to slain businessman Kurt McCartney because he is the brother of a popular politician.
McCartney, who was shot in the head on Thursday in the Gambier Village area, is the younger brother of Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Leader Branville McCartney.
Kurt’s killer remains on the loose, but police have already taken several people into custody for questioning.
Days after his murder police were still making appeals to the public for help in this case.
However, no appeals have been made for a Haitian man who was shot to death in the Cordeaux Avenue and Palm Beach Street area even though he was killed just hours after Kurt.
Police even announced a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Police Superintendent Stephen Dean told The Journal that it is actually Crime Stoppers that is offering the reward and not police. He said it is something police do all the time.
The Journal reviewed several of the RBPF’s crime press releases. There was no mention of a reward for information into any of the murders.
He later said he chose to “re-emphasise” the cash reward in the press release on McCartney’s death.
On Tuesday, several members of the public spoke out.
Arlington Rolle, 36, said the police are out of order for offering the reward.
“It seems they’re getting personal. Their job is to investigate and bring the culprit to justice. How did they get that deep to offer the police money when in situations like that the family is supposed to offer a reward for information and the police is supposed to push it,” Mr. Rolle said.
“That just shows you that the police and the force look down on certain people because if they kill my brother the police aren’t going to offer a grand. This just shows what’s going on in the country right now. The country is not fair and they look differently at poor and middle class people. They look at us like we don’t need to be here; we don’t have anything, we’re never going to have anything and we’re not giving you nothing, so just die.”
Alfonso Smith of Mangrove Cay, Andros said he, too, feels the police were wrong to offer a reward in this incident.
“The police should be consistent in what they are doing,” Mr. Smith said.
“This is the first time where I have heard where the police have issued a reward to apprehend a criminal. If you’re going to do it for one you should do it for all. You shouldn’t have a double standard. That’s the way I feel. There are so many things that are going wrong in The Bahamas that it is mind boggling.”
A woman, who declined to provide her name, said she does not think it is fair for the police to offer the McCartney family special treatment.
“But, at the end of the day the reality is people do have privilege for having wealth and having stature and status in society. So, when somebody of that stature or who is related to somebody of that stature has that prominence in society then the police, I guess, felt warranted to maybe give a reward before the family did. It shouldn’t be so and with the way things are going we really need to be more united in all areas,” she said.
Another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said no one is more important than the other and police should operate with that premise in mind.
“Your life [isn’t] more important than my life. A lot of people lost loved ones, it’s not just them. It’s not just Leslie Miller [Tall Pines MP] and Branville McCartney who lost loved ones,” he said.
Another male resident who spoke to The Journal he has never heard of police making such an appeal and offering this type of reward for a murder.
“A lot of other people got killed and no one ever offered $1. All they’ve ever said is if you know anything call Crime Stoppers. I watched the news and the brother, Branville McCartney is offering $50,000 reward. So, I guess it’s who you know,” he said. “That’s what it all boils down to.”
As it relates to the Haitian man who was murdered, Supt Dean stressed that four teen boys are in custody being questioned.
