By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A POLICE officer shot a break-in suspect who allegedly drew a knife on him after leading the officer on a foot chase through bushes off Prince Charles Drive yesterday morning.

The suspect was on bail for armed robbery and was wearing an ankle bracelet, according to Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade.

He died in hospital shortly after he was shot. Mr Greenslade gave an account of the fatal confrontation at a press conference at police headquarters.

According to Mr Greenslade, around 11:30am the police control room received a report of a break-in in progress in the Springfield Road area just off Prince Charles Drive.

Officers responded and shortly thereafter residents pointed out a “suspicious vehicle” occupied by three adult males, he said.

Police reportedly forced the car to stop and approached the vehicle.

One of the men reportedly ran from the responding officer, prompting police to give chase.

According to Mr Greenslade, the pursuit led the officers and the suspect into a bushy area just to the southern side of Prince Charles Drive.

While in that area, the officer leading the pursuit, an inspector, said the assailant “turned upon him with a knife, attempting to stab him,” Mr Greenslade said.

The officer reportedly fired a single shot from his service pistol, hitting the suspect in the head.

The suspect fell “with his knife still clutched in his hand,” and immediately EMS personnel were summoned, the commissioner said.

Mr Greenslade said EMS personnel found the suspect “in situ where he fell, untouched, and rendered the necessary medical care to him.”

The suspect was taken to hospital, still alive, but an hour later police were notified the suspect had died.

“Fed up”

“There are far too many good citizens of the Bahamas, moreso citizens in New Providence who are fed up with the amount of times that the sanctity of their homes have been defiled,” Mr Greenslade said. “While we continue to speak about very serious crimes as we perceive it, and we speak to the issues of murders and other serious crimes, far too many persons are very disturbed that no attention is being paid. They perceive by the wider public, by the press, and by all of us in our daily discourse about the invasion of their privacy, the defilement of the sanctity of their homes, and how vulnerable they feel as decent hard working citizens.

“I’m very conscious of the fact that a life has been lost, very conscious of the fact that public expectation is at the highest level. We must be transparent and speak to these issues forthrightly and also recognise that there must be due process and natural justice and we shouldn’t rush to justice on either side.”

Mr Greenslade said two men, ages 23 and 27 are in police custody, in connection with the incident.

He said police have seized a vehicle and property that is suspected to have been stolen.

Police investigations are continuing.