Once again the actions of officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force will come under scrutiny from the courts as a Coroner’s inquest commences into the circumstances surrounding the death of 27-year-old Jermaine Alexander Mackey.
Coroner William Campbell and a seven-member jury will seek to determine by what means Mackey came to his demise at the alleged hands of a police officer on December 6, 2002.
A summary of the facts in the case revealed that around 10.10 p.m. two police officers were on mobile patrol in the area of St. James Road. The officers observed a Mercedes vehicle with black tinted windows, travelling in a northern direction turning into Whites Addition, before the car came to a stop.
The police cruiser pulled up alongside the vehicle and observed a Honda Accord attempting to reverse, with another vehicle behind it.
The officers next observed a male clad in a dark shirt, jacket and hat leave the Honda Accord car with one of the police officers in pursuit, with the other losing sight of them when they went behind some houses.
A sudden gunshot was heard and the man being pursued headed in the direction of the lone police officer with his hand in his jacket. The police officer ordered him to halt, but he refused and the officer opened fire on him, as Mackey appeared to have remove a metallic object from his jacket.
Mackey was shot twice and died at the scene. He was pronounced dead by Emergency Medical Services.
After the shooting, a massive riot erupted in the St. James Road area resulting in a major fracas during which serious damage was inflicted upon six police cars, including four mobile units, a Scenes of Crime van, and a fire engine.
By Jimenita Swain, The Nassau Guardian
