Suspended Bermuda police 'blogger' formally dismissed
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| Published on Monday, August 11, 2008 |
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By Tricia N. Henry
Caribbean Net News Staff Reporter
Email: tricia@caribbeannetnews.com
HAMILTON, Bermuda: Bermuda’s Commissioner of Police, George Jackson, has officially dismissed suspended police officer, Allan Palmer from serving on the Bermuda Police Service (BPS), following the publication of what was termed “several allegations” made by Palmer in his Internet blog, “Crushing Fools”.
The dismissal was formally announced in a statement released by the Bermuda Police Service on August 7, in which the service also attempted to address the allegations made by Palmer – who is originally from the island of St Vincent – against the police force, the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Bermuda’s Commissioner of Police and one of his Superintendents.
"Firstly, it should be noted that Mr Palmer has been the subject of a number of disciplinary matters here in Bermuda, regarding his conduct while a member of the Bermuda Police Service," the statement said. "These matters are conducted under the direction of the Deputy Commissioner."
According to the BPS release, Palmer’s claims that the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, Bermuda's Commissioner of Police, George Jackson and one of his Superintendents, Randolph Liverpool, were conspiring against him after he wrote an article critical of Gonsalves following sexual assault allegations made against the Prime Minister, “could not be further from the truth”.
"Any suggestion of collusion or conspiracy is a complete fabrication,” the statement said.
The statement continued to say that the Commissioner of Police for St Vincent and the Grenadines formally wrote to Bermuda’s Commissioner of Police in complaint about Palmer’s conduct, and that “these matters relate to the internal discipline and are again under the direction of the Deputy Commissioner”.
The BPS also said that Palmer’s allegations of being followed 24 hours a day for three months; having his phones tapped and listening devices placed in his room; and that a “female ‘honeytrap’” was set against him were all “preposterous and totally false".
The BPS statement also called untrue Palmer's public statement that he resigned in June of this year.
"PC Palmer remained a member of the Bermuda Police Service and subject to service discipline," the statement said. "(On Wednesday) under powers vested in him by the Police Act, the Commissioner of Police has dismissed PC Palmer from Police Service."
According to the BPS, Palmer’s blogs had “continually misrepresented information and expressed personal views that are inappropriate for a member of the Bermuda Police Service”.
As a result of the allegations which they found to be “of such a malicious nature”, the BPS said the statement was necessary to make the public aware of their untruthfulness.
Palmer faced disciplinary action by the BPS and was placed on suspension from duty earlier this year following the postings he made on his blog site.
The now ex-police officer has also been very outspoken in the recent past about the conditions under which members of the BPS were made to work, claiming that they were hazardous to the officers’ health. In two letters written to Caribbean Net News, he suggested that conditions found in a study conducted by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constables (HMIC) to be in contravention of local Health and Safety Codes, were directly responsible for the deaths of several named police officers.
Recent reports are that following his termination, Palmer has since left Bermuda and has declined to disclose his current location. | | | | Reads : 197 |
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