By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net 

A GRAPHIC video showing a half-naked Caucasian woman defecating inside a Bahamian police station ignited outrage yesterday and triggered a misconduct investigation within the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF).

Police said the video is under active investigation and insisted the behaviour shown doesn’t reflect the force’s rules or values. They said any officer responsible will face consequences. The woman was later released while the probe continues.

The footage, widely shared on social media, shows the woman shouting for access to a bathroom, claiming her repeated requests were ignored. She defecates on the station floor, while voices off-camera, presumed to be officers, mock and provoke her.

“I told you I had to go to the bathroom,” she says after the act, visibly distressed. In the exchange, she repeatedly uses racial slurs against officers, who respond with taunts and accusations that she is under the influence of cocaine. One officer tells her to “stay out the coke house”.

Another officer replies to her use of a slur by twisting it into an acronym: “never ignorant getting goals accomplished”.

The video then shows multiple piles of faeces on the floor. Officers react audibly to the smell, prompting another racial insult from the woman: “Just like you, n-----.”

The incident appears to have been filmed on a personal device, not a police body camera. National Security Minister Wayne Munroe confirmed yesterday that the recording breached RBPF policy.

“That does not look to be a body camera video because body cameras do not display like that,” he said. “So that would be somebody recording, and that would be against the orders of the Commissioner of Police.”

Mr Munroe emphasised the seriousness of the situation, noting that while the woman may not have been physically assaulted, the breach of protocol was clear.

“If you are a policeman and you know you are not supposed to be recording people and you are not supposed to be releasing them, you should expect to be disciplined if that is what you did,” he said.

He added that the investigation, led by Commissioner of Police Shanta Knowles, must determine whether the officers’ behaviour amounts to criminal neglect.

“When you are in custody, you are completely at the mercy of the police for simple things like going to the bathroom or being fed and given quarter,” he said. “So it is very important that the police observe the rules in relation to the care of people in custody.”

Attorney Christina Galanos, who advocates for detainee rights, said the woman’s treatment and the circulation of the video represents a serious violation of her rights.

“She has a right to use the bathroom. That is her right. She ought to be treated humanely and fairly, pursuant to the Constitution,” she said.

Ms Galanos described the incident as “a complete loss of dignity” and warned that the viral nature of the footage could inflict lasting damage on the woman’s life and reputation. “That is a video that is going to be in circulation forever,” she said.

She added that the officers’ failure to de-escalate the situation showed a disturbing lack of professionalism. “There appears to be this perception among certain officers that if you verbally abuse them, or if you talk to them a certain way, then they have this power or right to mistreat you,” Ms Galanos said. “That is simply not the case.”

Calling the footage “dehumanising”, she said the woman would likely have grounds for a civil lawsuit based on inhumane and degrading treatment. “If you do not have the stomach to endure [verbal abuse] and continue on with your job professionally and check all the boxes, then you ought not be there,” she said.

She also warned that the international fallout could be severe. “It makes our police force and our country look horrible,” she said. “If you turn people off with a video like that, they will not come.”