Senior cop apologises for labelling some licensed firearm holders as cowards

By Nakinskie Robinson   

 

A senior officer attached to the St. Catherine North Police division has issued an apology after labelling some licensed firearm holders as cowards during a St. Catherine Municipal Corporation meeting last Thursday.

 

Deputy Superintendent of Police Paul Bernard made the comment in response to concerns about a flare up of deadly violence in Commodore, Banbury and Treadways in St. Catherine.

 

"We cannot police from a distance, and some of the residents, they are cowards. If you go there to look for Miss Murphy they'll see you and video you, but they see the criminals dem seh, 'A mi G that man'. A lot of us are cowards. Even firearm holders inside here, most of you are cowards. Tell me when last you hear a firearm holder shoot somebody. A lot of you are cowards man, unuh a leave the fight to police alone," he had said at Thursday's meeting.  

 

But the Jamaica Constabulary Force's High Command has signalled its disapproval of the senior lawman's statement, distancing itself from DSP Bernard's remark in which he had also called for increased community policing.

 

During a recorded apology on Monday afternoon, DSP Bernard said his comment did not align with the JCF's ideologies. 

 

"The statements were inappropriate and do not reflect the values and standards upheld by the Jamaica Constabulary Force. I recognise that my remarks were an error in judgement and were not in line with the principles of stakeholders' engagement that we, as members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, are committed to. As a 38-year advocate of community-based policing, I am deeply sorry for any distress or harm my words may have caused to the community, my colleagues, and the wider public," he admitted. 

 

DSP Bernard said his comments also did not reflect the fresh approach to policing being taken by the police force. 

 

"The success that the St. Catherine North division, and by extension, the wider JCF has been able to achieve have come through building effective partnerships between the police and our citizen groups. My comments were not reflective of the transformation in quality that we have engaged in. So I fully understand the gravity of my actions and I'm prepared to face the consequences determined by the Jamaica Constabulary Force High Command. I am committed to learning from this experience and ensure that such behaviour is never repeated," he said. 

 

The senior cop's apology has so far been well received by some social media users, many of whom lauded his service to the JCF.

 

Others expressed the view that there was no need for an apology since they agreed with the lawman's initial comment.