NASSAU — Minister of National Security Marvin Dames said yesterday incidents of police officers caught on social media in conflicts with the public casts a negative shadow on law enforcement, the Nassau Guardian reported on May 8.
Dames said he has spoken with Commissioner of Police Anthony Ferguson and his executive team and said steps are being taken to address these issues, ranging from through training and investigative procedures for such incidents.
On May 3, police said that a video circulating on social media “involving the conduct of police officers on duty towards members of the public” was brought to the attention of then Deputy Commissioner Emrick Seymour.
In the video, an officer appears to slap a man in the face several times. Dames said he is very concerned about incidents like this.
“It’s always concerning to us anytime we see our law enforcement officers on social media involved in conflicts with members of the public,” he said. “That’s always a point and a cause for concern. I know as a matter of fact that I’ve been discussing this issue with the commissioner and his executive team and steps are being taken internally to work on that from a training perspective as well as from an investigative perspective.”
