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| Three shot by police this week |
Travis Cartwright-Carroll
Guardian Staff Reporter travis@nasguard.com
Published: Sep 21, 2012
Police reported that they shot a man on Wednesday night after he confronted them with a knife, marking the third man shot by police in less than a week. So far there have been 30 cases of police-involved shootings for the year. The latest suspect, a 21-year-old man of Milton Street, was in serious condition in hospital under heavy police guard at last report. Police said they were on foot patrol on a track road off Milton Street when they saw the man acting suspiciously. When the suspect saw the officers he drew a knife and attacked them and was shot, police said. One of the officers received serious injuries to both hands during the incident, according to police. The officer was taken to hospital where he was treated and discharged. Police said when they searched the suspect he had a quantity of marijuana along with an undisclosed amount of money. The suspect was the third man shot by police in three days. The first occurred on Monday when a teen suspected of housebreaking was shot by police and left in critical condition in hospital. Police said the 18-year-old suspect of St. James Road, off Shirley Street, was shot around 9:30 a.m. Officers were responding to a housebreaking on Reivax Drive in the Penny Saving Bank Subdivision, when they were confronted by the suspect armed with a knife. Police did not provide further details. The second incident happened on Wednesday around 4 a.m. Police said officers were on patrol on Balfour Avenue and East Street when they tried to stop the occupants of a white Toyota Corolla. The driver sped off and police pursued and intercepted the vehicle. During the incident the occupants of the car fired gunshots and police returned fire, resulting in one of the men being shot to the finger. The suspect was taken to hospital where he was treated and discharged. For the year so far six people have been fatally shot and 24 have been wounded by police. According to The Nassau Guardian’s records, three suspects were shot by police in February; two in March; one in April; three in May; four in June; five in July; two in August and four so far in September. Those shootings were not fatal. Additionally, one suspect was shot dead by police in March; one in April; one in May; two in June and one so far in September. Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade said on Monday that the police ensure these cases are properly investigated by the coroner. “If a person in this community brandishes an illegal firearm or even a legal firearm and points it at a police officer, the officers are going to react and do what is necessary by law,” he said. “I’ve looked at all of the files and I am satisfied that all of them would have been investigated and that they have all gone on to [the coroner]. “In all of those cases except one, the victims were armed with illegal firearms.” Greenslade told The Nassau Guardian back in July that despite a marked increase in police-involved shootings, he does not think that there is a problem. He said at the time that anyone who points a gun in the direction of a police officer or attempts to take on an officer, will be shot “without hesitation”. |
