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Vessel ‘rammed’ police boat ‘on numerous occasions’ injuring officers- CoP Collins

- Police responded with gunfire
At least three police officers were seriously injured when the vessel they were in was allegedly ‘rammed’ several times by another vessel attempting to evade interception off East End on July 19, 2023, Commissioner of Police Mark Collins has said. Photo: Facebook
Three 'local' persons were held, a large quantity of drugs and a firearm were seized and the two vessels were detained in the operation on July 19, 2023. Photo: Team of Reporters.
Three 'local' persons were held, a large quantity of drugs and a firearm were seized and the two vessels were detained in the operation on July 19, 2023. Photo: Team of Reporters.
EAST END, Tortola, VI- At least three police officers were seriously injured when the vessel they were in was allegedly ‘rammed’ several times by another vessel attempting to evade interception off East End on July 19, 2023.

This is according to Commissioner of Police Mark Collins, who made the disclosure at a press conference called by the National Security Council (NSC) on July 20, 2023.

Mr Collins said two vessels were observed approaching the VI from the direction of Anguilla. He said one of the vessels complied and stopped when VI Marine Police sounded the alarm; however, one attempted to flee and slammed into the police vessel, damaging the police boat and injuring some of the officers onboard.

Police opened fire on vessel after ‘attacked’

He said it was this that led to the police opening fire on the vessel.

“The RVIPF Marine Unit observed those vessels and in fact attempted to stop them in East End on Tortola. On approach, one of the vessels attempted to evade capture and rammed the police vessel on numerous occasions, causing some damage to the vessel and also some significant injuries to the officers onboard.

“Shots were fired by members of the RVIPF due to the fact they were under attack,” Mr Collins said.

Three “local” persons were held, a large quantity of drugs and a firearm were seized and the two vessels were detained.

One of the persons arrested is a female.

At least 6 officers were injured- CoP

“Some officers were detained in hospital overnight, some officers have received cuts that required treatment and bruises and some other conditions as well, as a result of the boat being rammed, but they are not life-threatening injuries at all.

“There are still serious injuries and will require persons to recuperate and some periods of rehabilitation,” Mr Collins said.

He also clarified that about 6 or 7 persons on the police boat were injured but 3 were kept in hospital overnight.

At the time of publication, police did not disclose whether anyone has yet been charged.

32 Responses to “Vessel ‘rammed’ police boat ‘on numerous occasions’ injuring officers- CoP Collins”

  • Them police (21/07/2023, 07:02) Like (27) Dislike (9) Reply
    Are playing with their lives , we all know that AK47 have been used here already , are they goNNa wait untill one of those drug dealers let desperation get to their head and and start flexing off , LIKE WHAT WENT DOWN IN THE FISH BAY EXECUTION STYLE MURDER ? ? ? , WE ALL KNOW THEY WEREN'T USING ( TOY GUNS ) DO YOU THINK THEY WOULD TRY TO RAM AN COAST GUARD ? ???? oh , I forgot they have to kill the police officers first , before we get the message / we only live once , if i were a police on the boat , I would of send a warning shot and if they tried then we would of been sending bullets through the boat then they would of gotten the message if the were still alive
  • LMAOOOOO (21/07/2023, 08:45) Like (6) Dislike (71) Reply
    this man really sit there and try to justify his officers shooting after unarmed persons??
    • WHAT!!! (21/07/2023, 09:18) Like (39) Dislike (1) Reply
      “LMAOOOOO”
      READ the whole thing “a firearm was seized “
    • Foolish (21/07/2023, 12:53) Like (22) Dislike (1) Reply
      @LMAOOOOO.
      JUSTIFY shooting at unarmed people —- They “ ram “ the police boat —THAT WAS AN ATTACK that warranted “ SHOOTING TO KILL” as the police lives were threatened!!
  • The police is who ram them man (21/07/2023, 08:46) Like (8) Dislike (48) Reply
    I dont believe what the police say
  • Cameras (21/07/2023, 09:04) Like (11) Dislike (3) Reply
    Play the tape ayo recording everything now. Play the tape
  • Citizen (21/07/2023, 09:51) Like (24) Dislike (29) Reply
    The police went in the way of the boat and got rammed since the culprits didn’t stop on your order. That’s fine, it’s part of policing. But don’t make it sound like they intentionally came to ram the police boat. The police are only saying that to sanction opening fire on the boat. I hate liars.
    • @citizen (21/07/2023, 13:21) Like (10) Dislike (0) Reply
      Were you there?
    • @ Citizen (21/07/2023, 14:16) Like (2) Dislike (14) Reply
      The police tryn cover them a** now! Ain no way them man woulda try bump in to the police is they trying get away. They using da 2 justify why they buss shot. We from da east! We ain dumb
      • Aunty Susan (21/07/2023, 16:29) Like (9) Dislike (1) Reply
        You write like you are.
      • Blind Man (21/07/2023, 20:32) Like (2) Dislike (0) Reply
        We from the east aiin dumb are you so sure about that, because you sound stupid it seems like anything that's wrong is right for you all until it's one of your family member that is caught up or killed then you come on here begging crying for justice please sit down and learn some common sense. Officers should have the right to defend themselves on the open ocean if you fail to stop then you should be stop by force simple as that I'm a hustler but ignorance is no excuse of the law stop number one I not for this cocaine shit it only destroys lives.
  • Kulcha (21/07/2023, 09:57) Like (61) Dislike (9) Reply
    It says a lot when yall are more in favor of the criminals than the law SMH
    • Poseidon (21/07/2023, 10:49) Like (7) Dislike (25) Reply
      You missing the point, it's not that people favor the criminals, they just have a lack of trust in the police who are suppose to enforce the laws with a certain level of discretion.
      • To Poseiden (22/07/2023, 09:11) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
        A boat carrying a large amount of illegal drugs, evading the police at sea, is NOT a situation that requires discretion.
  • vi (21/07/2023, 10:39) Like (7) Dislike (3) Reply
    The police should have dropped all of the drugs lord you wicked people.
  • ... (21/07/2023, 10:45) Like (9) Dislike (9) Reply
    Doesnt make much sense to risk sinking if they want to get away. Can we act like adults and say it probably got rammed when the police blocked their escape multiple times?

    I wasn't there and dont know what happened exactly but either way lets not have persons in authority mislead the public please. common sense we've all watched cops we're not dumb.
  • side eye (21/07/2023, 10:59) Like (2) Dislike (0) Reply
    One female!?
  • police tried to block them off (21/07/2023, 11:45) Like (3) Dislike (2) Reply
    For all I know boats don't carry brakes
  • Observer (21/07/2023, 12:22) Like (11) Dislike (0) Reply
    Why are they not publishing the names of the person's they caught?
  • HMMM (21/07/2023, 12:22) Like (7) Dislike (28) Reply
    Cop lying again, how could the guys ram the police boat multiple times? So they turned around and went and rammed the police boat again with drugs on board. When will these white uk officers stop with their lies? The police sailed in the way to stop the guys who were at high speed, then fired at a fleeing vessel which was not endangering them. People stop these white guys from justifying their crap. Lawyers please defend your clients. The police was trying to kill your clients. No bvi police is not trained to fire at any boat engine. From since the last firearm instructor left he made the argument it is not safe and he never trained one police officer to do it. And up to now no police officer has been trained to do that. Now come back and say they had training in that field. You’ll need to stop kissing the behinds of these racist guys.
  • mad max (21/07/2023, 12:36) Like (20) Dislike (4) Reply
    With the amount of guns in the Territory, the police would be justified in shooting first and asking questions later in these sort of incidents. BVI needs a wake up call. All these people justifying, supporting and hiding criminals are equally guilty.
  • sample (21/07/2023, 15:32) Like (4) Dislike (11) Reply
    With all of this nonsense going on. The police them run down the reef and say the boat push them them set of lies them saying.it cannot add up so ah yo better write a report on that cause pure nonsense here COP come better.
  • HNF (21/07/2023, 15:43) Like (0) Dislike (4) Reply
    It’s about time hustlers never fold
  • @sample (21/07/2023, 17:19) Like (0) Dislike (1) Reply
    Say that when they ce for you.
  • tola (21/07/2023, 18:14) Like (10) Dislike (1) Reply
    I see why no crime can be solved in the BVI cause all I see here in the comments is a bunch a criminals ...
  • Well (21/07/2023, 18:29) Like (7) Dislike (1) Reply
    IT LOOKS LIKE THE POLICE ARE GUILTY FOR APPRENHENING THE HOLY DRUG DEALERS ???? LOOK AT THE DEFENCE THAT IS BEING BLOGGED AT THE POLICE , (
    JUST LIKE THE OUTCRY AGAINST THE COMMISSIONER WHEN THE VIDEO WAS SHOWN TO THE PUBLIC TO MAKE THEM SEE FOR THEMSELVES WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON IN THIS BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY , THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE TRY TO HIDE AND PAINT A PICTURE OF EVERYTHING
    IS ALRIGHT / AND NOW IT LOOKS LIKE THESE SAME PEOPLE GOT HURT BY THE LOSS OF THEIR DRUGS SO THEY ARE VENTING OUT THEIR ANGER ON THE POLICE , / WHY DON'T THEY TRY THAT RAMMING ON AN AMERICAN COAST GUARD
  • one time (22/07/2023, 21:46) Like (3) Dislike (0) Reply
    This whole thing sounds like a set up .. Free my dawgs


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