Sept. 9, 2003 – Police Commissioner Elton Lewis stood squarely behind his men and women in blue in his first public response to suggestions by Attorney General Iver Stridiron concerning the responsibilities of officers when they are off duty.
With reference to a double shooting by an off-duty officer on Aug. 29, Stridiron had said that the gunman should be publicly identified because he was acting in his capacity as "a civilian."
Lewis insisted on Monday that officers are sworn to uphold their duties as police both on and off duty.
"Whether the officer is on or off duty," Lewis said, "his training supports his impulse to protect the public at all times." He added: "As a former street officer myself, I do not condone brutality in any form, shape or fashion, and I will take the appropriate steps to address any such complaints."
As the same time, he said, he takes exception to officers being placed in a negative light when they take control of a situation. "I am not going to tolerate efforts by thugs to place officers in bad light and make themselves out to be a victim or hero," he said.
Stridiron said last week that the identity of the officer who fired the shots wounding two men on Aug. 29 in the parking lot outside Kmart at Tutu Park Mall on St. Thomas should be released because he was off duty and was "a civilian" when the shootings occurred.
The officer also was employed by Kmart as a private security officer. He was on duty at the store when he shot two of three alleged assailants. One, identified by police as Kerwim Williams, was treated at Roy L. Schneider Hospital for wounds to the leg and placed under arrest. The other, identified as Romiah Remey, was hospitalized in critical condition, having been shot in the abdomen, groin and legs.
Police authorities said at the time that the three were being escorted off the Kmart property after having created a disturbance in the store. One man allegedly attacked the officer with a broken bottle, another then joined in the attack and as the third began to approach, the officer drew his gun and ordered the men to halt. When they ignored the order, "he fired several shots to protect himself," police said.
The officer suffered lacerations to his face, head and arm and came close to losing his left eye, Sgt. Thomas Hannah, police spokesman, said at the time.
The police union collective bargaining agreement provide that officers involved in internal investigations not be identified publicly. Stridiron's comment angered union officials in both districts, and by the end of last week there had been repeated calls for his resignation or termination — with no response from the Turnbull administration.
Lewis's comments on Monday were restrained in comparison. "I am not going to sit here and second guess the attorney general," he said. "He has a duty to adjudicate and make an opinion on any issue he desires."
The police commissioner said he has a good relationship with the attorney general, "and I intend to keep it that way."
Once the Police Department's Internal Affairs Unit has completed its investigation into the shooting, Lewis said, he will determine whether the officer violated department policy regarding the use of deadly force, and then the V.I. Justice Department will rule on whether criminal charges are warranted.
Lewis also said he is reviewing all applications that come before him for off-duty employment of police officers. He said he could not say how many members of the force are moonlighting but that economic situations sometimes force officers to seek a second job to augment their Police Department pay.
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