Minister for Crime Prevention and Persons with Disabilities, Hon Jeremiah Norbert, took a firm stance Tuesday on police accountability, following public outrage over the manhandling of a differently-abled man by members of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force. The incident, which occurred along Chaussee Road has sparked widespread condemnation across social media platforms.
Addressing the media ahead of Tuesday’s Parliamentary session, Norbert emphasized his commitment to the rule of law and professional policing, while distancing himself from officers who deviate from proper conduct.
“If Police officers decide to go on a tangent of their own and behave defiant or go against the established norms and rules that are supposed to guide them and the way they operate, I will not stand and support it. I will openly condemn it, and that is my stance on the particular matter,” Norbert declared.
Norbert also addressed another matter which again has gone viral where a police officer threatened to shoot a driver of a vehicle during a traffic check. Acknowledging he was not fully apprised of all the circumstances leading up to the incident, Norbert said certain behavior could not be defended.
“Under no circumstance would you just turn and tell anybody that ‘I’m going to shoot you,’” he stated. “When you are trained you are trained to be professional.”
Norbert, a former police officer himself, referenced the professional training officers receive, pointing to the doctrine of escalation and de-escalation in the use of force.
“There is a certain element of customer service that is being taught to police officers,” he said. “You are taught how to escalate different levels of force and at what point you will use different levels of force. Your firearm is your last resort.”
He stressed that police cadets are repeatedly instructed that lethal force is not to be used lightly or arbitrarily. “Every policeman in training school is taught: your firearm is your last resort. You do not just go around telling people you’re going to shoot them.”
Norbert added that where the use of a firearm is necessary and justifiable, such action would receive his full support. “If they can justify the use of a firearm, then use it. And if that happens, then the police officer has my full support. But instances where we believe we are going to use our offices or the power invested in us to take advantage of individuals, that is unacceptable.”
Speaking to the broader position of the government, Norbert indicated that Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre and the Cabinet shared a unified view: “If you’re in the right, we’re going to support you. If you’re in the wrong, we have to condemn what it is that you’re doing.”
