Probe not concluded into police killing of prisoner Hernandez
Mr Hernandez, who was one of many to escape from Her Majesty’s Prison at Balsam Ghut after the powerful category 5 hurricane, Irma, destroyed the building, died on December 7, 2017 at Peebles Hospital after being shot by police.
He was allegedly in a confrontation with members of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) on the morning he was found hiding in an abandoned house where he was said to have a knife and Commissioner of Police (CoP) Michael B. Matthews had described him as “violent.”
Weeks later, a 12-member team from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force arrived in the Virgin Islands (VI) to conduct what Mr Matthews said will be an “independent investigation" into the killing of Mr Hernandez.
Report by end of month?
Commissioner Matthews, when asked about the status of the investigation last evening January 12, 2018, told our newsroom “we are awaiting the final report from the Turks and Caicos Police.”
When asked whether there was a preliminary report, the CoP said “nope, just a final report is expected.”
Mr Matthews, who promised that the report will be transparent and that it remains “independent from the RVIPF”, added that he is expecting the report by the end of January 2018.
He said the Governor will be given a copy and “we will consider the findings from there.”
Mr Hernandez, a native of the Dominican Republic (DR), was, before his killing by Government, charged for the murder of Alston E. Penn, but was never convicted of the crime.
It is our newsroom's understanding that the family of the deceased made arrangements for his body to be returned to Santo Domingo in the DR for funeral proceedings last week.
See link to related article:
21 Responses to “Probe not concluded into police killing of prisoner Hernandez”