{"id":34685,"date":"2013-04-22T08:16:27","date_gmt":"2013-04-22T12:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/?p=34685"},"modified":"2013-04-22T08:16:27","modified_gmt":"2013-04-22T12:16:27","slug":"police-abuse-shooting-deaths-highlighted-in-u-s-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/2013\/04\/police-abuse-shooting-deaths-highlighted-in-u-s-report","title":{"rendered":"Police Abuse, Shooting Deaths Highlighted In U.S. Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Questionable deaths in police custody and shooting deaths during police operations featured prominently in The Bahamas\u2019 2012 Human Rights Report released by the U.S. State Department.<\/p>\n

The report also said a poorly functioning judicial system leading to delayed trials, and witness intimidation were some of the most serious human rights problems in the country.<\/p>\n

The report said that other problems included poor detention conditions; corruption; violence and discrimination against women; sexual abuse of children and discrimination based on ethnic descent, sexual orientation, or HIV status.<\/p>\n

The report noted that the government took action against police officers accused of abuse of power, and there was not a widespread perception of impunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were no reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings,\u201d the report stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, there were occasional reports of fatal shootings and questionable deaths of suspects in police custody.<\/p>\n

\u201cBystanders at some shootings claimed that police were too quick to use their firearms and, in some instances, declared that police officers were unprofessional and in need of additional training.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolice investigated all such incidents and referred them to a coroner\u2019s court for further evaluation. \u201cIn addition, all deaths in police custody go before the coroner\u2019s court. \u201cAuthorities reported two fatalities in police operations during the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report also mentioned that on June 6, a court found police officer Donovan Gardiner guilty of beating a suspect (held in custody on a minor traffic offense) with a baseball bat, resulting in injuries that led to his death in 2007. The judge sentenced Gardiner to 10 years in prison.<\/p>\n

The report highlighted a case in July where three robbery suspects who were held in custody claimed that police beat them.<\/p>\n

Prison<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the report, prison and detention center conditions failed to meet international standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cConditions at Her Majesty\u2019s Prisons at Fox Hill (HMP), the country\u2019s only prison, remained harsh and unsanitary for many prisoners,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

The report said overcrowding and access to health care were major problems in the men\u2019s maximum- security block.<\/p>\n

It added that the practice of using slop buckets was also an issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cHuman rights organizations complained the government did not consistently grant requests by independent human rights observers for access to HMP, the Carmichael Road Detention Centre, and the two juvenile centers,\u201d read the report.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government maintained additional bureaucratic procedures for some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to gain access to the detention center, making it difficult to visit detainees on a regular basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a press release, the U.S. Embassy noted that the report merely provides a snapshot of conditions in each country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe report factually on human rights conditions and how they align with universal human rights, and we work hard to ensure that the reports meet high standards of accuracy and objectivity,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n

By Travis Cartwright-Carroll<\/span><\/em>
\nGuardian Staff Reporter<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The report said that other problems included poor detention conditions; corruption; violence and discrimination against women; sexual abuse of children and discrimination based on ethnic descent, sexual orientation, or HIV status.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[31,237,1185,219],"class_list":["post-34685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-headlines","tag-crime","tag-guns","tag-police-custody-deaths","tag-violence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34685\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}