By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

A MAN who says he was chased and shot at by plain-clothes police claims he has new evidence. Mervin Darling, 40, said he has found two shell casings that he believes will link police to the shooting incident.

Mr Darling said he found the bullet remnants as he scoured East Street looking for clues following a disappointing meeting with police investigators.

He said: “When I went there last week, they told me they ‘had no leads’ in this investigation. So over the weekend I searched for two days. I didn’t find nothing on Saturday, but on Sunday I went out there and I found these two casings. I almost gave up, you know there was a lot of rain but it was right there just up against the kerb.”

“I’m sure they can look at this, put it under a microscope and be able to tell if these are in fact police bullets or if these were fired by a police weapon.”

Deputy Commissioner of Police Quinn McCartney has confirmed that the police are actively investigating the incident.

Mr Darling, former deputy chairman of the Workers Party, alleged that plain-clothed officers in an unmarked vehicle shot repeatedly at his car as he drove home in the early hours of May 9.

Area residents, who were said to have witnessed the alleged incident, gave their account of the ordeal in an interview with The Tribune at the scene yesterday.

The residents, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said they were shocked by the incident that unfolded in the street outside their home.

A resident and matriarch, said: “We all heard the shots, we thought someone was shooting into our yard. Everybody had to just get low. I told everybody to get down, put all the children on the floor as soon as we started hearing the shots.

“They shouldn’t have done him like that, it’s wrong, they treated him bad. You know how much people got the police up there (court), suing them. They need to do that, they need to check themselves. Supposed they killed someone, stray bullets can kill someone. [Commissioner] Greenslade need to shake up those crooked police.”

One resident said: “When we came out, they had his throat on the road. Foot on his head. At first I thought he was dead how they were just standing up there. But then after they root up his truck they just let him go. Nothing. I mean you was shooting like that with no motive? They just tell him go, drive off.”

Another resident said: “They had to let him go, they was so shame. They know they was wrong for what they do.”

Mr Darling is employed as a food and beverage consultant for Bahamas Hospitality with responsibility for food and bar service management of various restaurants.

He is also the leader of a fledgling B class Junkanoo Group, the Englerston Pioneers, who plan to make their debut at this year’s Boxing Day parade.

On the eve of the incident, he had just finished work at Traveller’s Rest.

The 40-year-old activist, one of the organisers of Freedom March, said he is now convinced of the need for Bahamians to be armed and trained to protect against rights violations, which he described as casualties of a criminal war zone.

Mr Darling said he attempted to turn over the shell casings to investigators at the Complaints and Corruptions Unit yesterday; however, he did not feel comfortable with the process.

He added that he was sceptical over whether the evidence would be tampered with. Last night, Mr McCartney said he would look into this latest development in the continuing investigation.