Police Constable Jamile Ferguson was hauled to court and arraigned on Monday following his alleged involvement in an altercation that occurred on Saturday involving fellow officer Corporal Dwayne Bethel on the weekend.
The police constable was charged after his superiors on the Royal Bahamas Police Force completed an investigation, according to a press statement issued by Commissioner of Police Paul Farquharson.
Constable Ferguson was arraigned on the charge of causing harm to Corporal Bethel, the brother of Deron Bethel, the Pinewood Gardens resident who was killed in a police involved shooting earlier in the year. His death led to community uproar and a crescendo of demands for the persons involved to be brought to justice.
Shortly thereafter officer Nathaniel Charlow was arraigned for causing Bethelﾒs death.
The confrontation on Saturday involving the two officers stemmed from an earlier dispute between them, the Commissionerﾒs press statement disclosed.
“Corporal Bethel, who is attached to the Carmichael Detective Unit received an injury to his head,” said the press statement. “Constable Ferguson received an injury to the mouth.”
Although not explicitly saying so, police authorities denied that the bad relations between the two officers was because of the probe that was underway into Deron Bethelﾒs death.
“We can confirm and are satisfied that there is no connection between this incident and any other incident being investigated by police. The investigation into this matter has been concluded and as a result, Constable Jamile Ferguson has been charged with the offence of causing harm to Detective Corporal Bethel,” the press statement added.
In an interview that Corporal Bethel gave to the Tribune newspaper, he was reported to have said that he was sitting in his van ﾖ which bears an airbrush likeness of his brother ﾖ on the outside of the Carmichael Road Police Station just before midnight on Saturday when he was accosted by several men, one of which he recognized as a fellow officer.
He told the Tribune that one of the assailants grabbed him out of the vehicle, while another took his keys and he eventually became embroiled in a physical altercation.
Corporal Bethel also reported that at one point one of his attackers gun-butted him with a submachine weapon a few times, forcing him to require 30 stitches for a gaping wound in his head.
Bethel family members have given evidence in the court proceedings into the death of Deron Bethel.
Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez granted a $1,000 bail to Constable Ferguson, who was released on his own recognizance. He was ordered to return to court by 2p.m. on October 10 with one surety. The court proceedings were adjourned to October 24.
The Bahama Journal
