- National Security Minister not taking responsibility for prisoners escaping custody
On Tuesday, Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said he would not accept responsibility for the “human error” in the police force that allowed three men to escape a police station and kill two Americans on a yacht.
“Prisoners are held by police. Mitchell stated the police are responsible if a prisoner or inmates escape, and we’ve shown that they will be held accountable”.
In his first news conference since the detainees escaped on February 18, the Prime Minister informed Grenada journalists that an internal RGPF probe found that human error caused the men to escape. Police Act charges have been filed against four officers.
“The investigations found that the four South St. George’s Police station cells had secure and functional locking mechanisms. However, the 3 convicts were in a passageway with burglar bars outside the 4 locking cells when they escaped”, Mitchell added.
“Being there allowed them to bend the wrought iron or iron grill that secures that corridor area and escape. Thus, had the men been kept in individual locking cells with working systems, they would not have fled or had an opportunity to escape, he claimed”.
“Further warnings had been issued at least 2 days prior that the men were high risk and a flight risk, so it was more important to ensure that all of the standard operating procedures were followed to minimise any risk associated with the prisoners being at the police station,” he read from a prepared text.
The study found that key alerts and normal operating procedures were ignored. Supervisory carelessness and faulty shift handovers made the convicts’ escape possible. He added the police believe human error, mostly negligence, led to the escape.
On Tuesday morning, four police officers were charged with lying, allowing a prisoner to escape, and violating standing instructions. The Prime Minister did not specify each officer’s wrongdoing. Instead of a criminal or civil court, the Police Act’s disciplinary section shall be applied.
Ron Mitchell, 30, Trevon Robertson, 25, and Atiba Stanislaus, 23, had recently escaped from police custody after being charged with rape, robbery with violence, and other major offences. They were scheduled to appear in court on February 19, but vanished the day before.
