A day after a police-involved shooting case bypassed a coroner’s inquest, the man accused of pulling the trigger in the matter was arraigned in a Magistrate’s Court yesterday morning as a crowd of curious onlookers and scores of plain clothes officers lined both sides of Bank Lane.
A police officer for more than 10 years, 33-year-old Nathaniel Charlow stands accused of the shooting death of 20-year-old Pinewood Gardens resident Deron Bethel on March 27.
The officerﾒs attorney, Desmond Bannister, insists that at the time, his client was responding to a complaint by a woman who had reportedly been physically assaulted with a firearm in the area.
Mr. Bannister maintains that Officer Charlow and his colleaguesﾒ lives were in danger and promises that he will vigorously defend his client.
But witnesses claimed the shooter, who was dressed in plain clothes and riding in an unmarked car, only identified himself as a police officer after having allegedly shot Bethel.
An autopsy revealed that while initial reports suggested only a single shot was fired, Bethel was shot three times, each one potentially fatal. This stirred the wrath of members of that community.
A coronerﾒs inquest into the death was expected to begin on Monday, but on Wednesday, Officer Charlow faced the charge of manslaughter before Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez.
In a brief arraignment, Charlow was granted a $10,000 bail with two sureties.
On the outside of the court, Mr. Bannister renewed his concerns about the fact that the case was not heard in a coronerﾒs court as was expected.
He said this was a sad day for the administration of justice.
“I just want police officers out there to just continue to do their jobs, notwithstanding what has happened today, and in order to continue to administer the laws of our country fairly, we still need them,” Mr. Bannister said.
Officer Charlow was ordered to return to court on July 28.
Most of the police officers who had turned out in Bank Lane for a second consecutive day were there to show their support for their colleague.
They continue to insist that the matter should have first been sent to the coronerﾒs court for the coroner to make a recommendation on how to proceed.
The officers have accused Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson, who is also the member of parliament for Pinewood Gardens, of falling pressure to demands of her constituents who want to see the officer convicted.
But the attorney general has not responded to those serious allegations as the matter is now before the courts.
By: Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
