By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said the public is right to be concerned over the Royal Bahamas Police Force probe into allegations of corruption.  

Mr Davis was speaking last night during an interview by Clint Watson on ZNS, his former press secretary and the general manager of the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas - and spoke about the investigation into controversial voice notes that allegedly reveal a quid-pro-quo arrangement involving a senior police officer, a lawyer, and two deceased individuals, Michael Fox Jr and Dino Smith.

Mr Davis said: “The public is right to have their concerns. One of the critical factors of effective policing is for the public to have confidence in their police force. It is the public that you rely on for intelligence, to assist in detecting crimes, and to help prevent crime.

“And where there is that lack of trust and confidence you will have this breakdown so they are rightfully concerned about what is happening in the police force. Me too, I am concerned, but there is a process.”

Mr Davis urged the public to trust the process, saying the government is committed to restoring confidence in the police force.

He said: “We have to allow the process to be carried out. I want to assure the Bahamian people that this process will be conducted with integrity and objectivity. The results will be known, and the chips will fall where they may. Restoring public confidence in the police force is paramount, and we will work to ensure that this happens.”

Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander announced last month that no further public statements would be made about the investigation.

The investigation centres on a $1.5m airport bank car heist from November. Fox Jr and Smith were suspects but were never charged. Two other men, Oral Roberts, 34, and Akeil Holmes, 26, faced charges related to the robbery. Roberts was killed in Fox Hill last month.

Michael Johnson, head of the Central Investigations Department, is currently on garden leave while the investigation continues. Commissioner Fernander revealed the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has joined the probe, which is led by the Security and Intelligence Branch (SIB) of the police force. The Police Complaints Inspectorate, a traditionally under-resourced body, will oversee the SIB’s investigation.

Michael Fox Sr, father of Fox Jr, claimed his son gave him the voice notes with instructions to release them if he died. Fox Sr stated he did not release the tapes himself. Sandra Smith, mother of Dino Smith, confirmed her son informed her about the voice notes but did not provide them to her.

The matter has gripped the public’s attention partly because of other events that have occurred involving people connected to the voice notes. Days after Sylvens Metayer, a man living in the US who considers himself a whistleblower, seemingly released the voice notes, he was shot during a Facebook Live and survived the incident.