An Eleuthera man was shot three times in his legs by a police officer on that island earlier this week after he struggled with the officer and managed to put him in a choke hold during a nearly eight-minute altercation.
The incident, which happened on Monday and was not reported by police until The Guardian asked about it, was captured on a cell phone camera by an eyewitness.
When contacted, Police Press Liaison Officer Inspector Chrislyn Skippings said the information was “late coming in” from Eleuthera. However, she said the matter is under investigation and information will be disseminated following that probe.
The family of the man who was shot identified him as Kelson Antonio Ferguson, 28, of North Eleuthera.
According to Ferguson’s sister, Lathera Ferguson, he was pulled over by police on the airport road in North Eleuthera on Monday on suspicion of possession of drugs and dangerous weapons.
Lathera Ferguson, who was in the car at the time, said the officer who shot him asked her, her brother and her daughter to exit the vehicle so that he could search the car. However, Lathera Ferguson said instead of searching the car, the officer followed her brother across the road and asked to search him.
She said her brother then dropped his pants to show that he didn’t have anything on him.
In the video, Ferguson is shown with his pants around his ankles. The video shows the officer attempting to restrain Ferguson as he struggles during the arrest. At one point, the pair fell to the ground.
