I could hear some people, in their little groups, as they discuss the incident that have happened less than hour before. They asked each other questions such as; what will be the management of the Bermuda Police Service response to PC Palmer and the incident they just witnessed on the Governor's premises? While others felt the need to abreast me of the situation: "Palmer," they said "that incident is going to reach the police authorities; the Commissioner of Police is going to hear about it, and they are not going to take it lightly." This was some of the sentiments that were being expressed on our return to the Bermuda Police Training facility at Prospect, in the City of Hamilton, the Capital of Bermuda.
While others expressed the opinion that, I was in big trouble; some went as far as to suggest, they may even send you back to your country even before you get started. This was the consensus, of all who were at the scene. "I am in trouble for what?" I asked, "for doing what is right? For doing something you guys should have step up and do?" Was my reply to the rhetoric of fear that was being propagated.
I was on the island on Bermuda for five weeks, I left my Country, family, friends, all that I know and love, as well as, my old job behind; after providing nine years of service to my community, to take up a new job in the same field. My responsibility was to uphold and enforce the laws Bermuda an overseas territory of England. I was not alone in this new adventure; there were others from different Caribbean country and England; going through a six weeks assimilation training course, were we got a theoretical understanding of the culture, the people, the different races; the criminal climate and other related issue as well as the laws we were required to enforced.
We were into the last week of the sixth week assimilation course. The The Bermuda Fire Service had completed a plan the Governor's office commissioned the Bermuda Fire Department, to carry out a general assessment of the Government house and create a comprehensive evacuation plan of the Bermuda Governor’s mansion and office. The Government house office, is located on the same property as the Governor's residence. This was not just an ordinary plan; but it was a detail operations plan; which, the police on duty at the Governor’s mansion were required to be familiar with, and be ready to execute in the event of an emergency.
This, plan will aid in the quick evacuation of residence and workers at the Governor’s house; and see them quickly and safely usher to a designated safe zone on the property, until the appropriate arrangement is made to take them off of the property and away from the danger. This plan was designed and was being put into place, in order to prevent and or minimize injuries and death, in the event there was a real emergency such as a fire, a violent unlawful intrusion, or a terrorist attack, etc.
The Bermuda Fire Service has some of the best-trained personnel there is on a small island, as a matter, of fact, the Bermuda Fire personnel are well trained and are just as qualified as any firefighter you will find in the USA or Europe. The Bermuda Fire Department follows the American model of response and operations. There are qualify fire investigators within their ranks, and a range of other specialist. They also have a medic core attached to the fire Department. And are the primary medical emergency first responders on the twenty-two square-miles island.
The Governor on the other hand, is Her Majesty the Queen of England representative on the island. He or she is always a British citizen which all Bermudian are; however, in this case, the Governor to Bermuda, is always one who was born in England. Unlike most commonwealth countries that have since stepped from under the British Monarchy, the Governor of Bermuda has real power. Although his office does not get him involved in the day to day political and economic affairs of the island, he controls and gives directive to the Police Service, the Bermuda Regiment (The Army), the Fire Department, the Auditor General, the Accountant General and all of the major institution that are in place to ensure political and administrative accountability as well as, the continued good governance of the island resources.
The governor of Bermuda is a very powerful man, at any time, during his daily briefing, from the key institutions heads, if he gets the sense from the reports that the government is involved in major corruption, he can order and commission an investigation into the affairs of government and if in his opinion it is needed; he has the power to, upon receiving the instruction from England; dissolve the parliament, put an interim government in place, until a suitable group is constitutionally elected, to once again administer the affairs of the island. In the same way that was done in Turks and Caicos in 2009.
Assembled at the Government house, were groups of fire fighters, police officers and Government house staff awaiting the arrival of the governor and his wife Sir John and Lady Vereker. We were all gather there for a practical briefing and presentation of the new emergency response plan to possible emergencies. As expected the Governor must be waited upon and not the other way around. The Bermuda Fire Chief was responsible for making the presentation; he was aided by two other senor ranking firefighters, who had all who contributed to the completions of this project; all using their several expertise.
In their introduction, they clearly explained that they used a lot of scientific calculation, their experience and world trends and extensive research to completed this plan. One of the clear example they give to help us to understand what they were speaking of the spoke about the ten (10) hundred pounds’ propane tanks that is stored on the premises for domestic use. They give the scientific calculation of the force and the velocity of an object that was propelled from an explosion of one such tanks, or the tank itself as well as the damages that may occur from such object being propelled.
While we were taking a tour of the house, Madam Vereker objected, "why do they have to go into our home and into our bedroom" she said. The Fire official patiently and professionally explained to the Governor’s wife, in the event there is an emergency a split second can make the different between life and death. If the officers know where your rooms are then they can go directly to your room, and alert you of what is happening and safely escort you away from the danger.
It was only after some urging of the importance of the exercise that she consented to having the party of police and fire fighters into the house and up to her private quarters, not for an intrusive look but for a location identification view. Every decision the fire fighter came up with Lady Vereker shot it down like a notorious marksman on a shooting range with a loaded gun. She managed to make the hard work of the fire department useless. But what was overwhelmingly surprising, no matter how outrageous or how irrational her comments were, everyone agree with her and change their sound scientific plans to accommodate the untrained governor’s wife irrational suggestions. I was shock at the way things were proceeding. I could not believe what I was witnessing.
There were senior members as well as some junior members of the Bermuda Fire Service present. There were also an inspector and several None Commission Officers (NCO) of the Bermuda Police Service present among the people that assembled at the Government house in Bermuda. Yet, everyone stood by helplessly, while Lady Vereker ripped the Plans of the Bermuda Fire Department apart with her forcefully objections which resulted in the Fire Personnel reluctantly changing their well thought-out and well put together plans; that was gear to saving people’s live; to accommodate the Governor's wife. Lady Vereker, slowly and intentionally decimated the esteem of the Bermuda Fire Service, objections after objections, and their plans were also decimated with their esteem and their ego.
The continued objections resulted in the public obliteration of plans the Firefighters spent many hours, of research, the employment of skills, expertise, and experience to put together. A plan that was designed to help save life and prevent injuries in the event of an emergency. A presentation the fire personnel spent many hours preparing to make. In the process, the Governor’s wife were unknowingly, endanger her life, the life of her family, Government house staff, the police that work on the premises and were responsible for executing the plans and the life of the first responders who respond to any emergency that may occur there.
By this time, we were all out on the large grounds of the Governor’s house. There were four distinct groups congregated in the premises standing closely together in a circular position that gave each person a view of the presenters. There were the presenters who were standing with their backs to the north eastern position, there were the Governor and the Governor’s wife standing on the immidiate left of the presenters, the government house staff were on the Governor’s left, there were a small group of firefighters standing immediately opposite the presenters and to the left of the fire fighters there was a large contingent of police officers.
The Fire Personnel had a designated area on the property that was consider a safe zone in the event of a fire. The Fire Personnel explained why they selected the area, which was the lowest point on the property; and because smoke rises, this area is safe from the effects of smoke inhalation and smoke related effects on the body. It was away from the road and provided some shelter from visibility from the street; the area was also out of the reach of missiles which may resulted from an exploding propane tank, that may be propelled at high velocity from an explosion they explained.
Lady Vereker put up her hands once again, as she has been doing although the presentation and she was acknowledged as she was several times before. Then she declared, to my disgusted surprised; “why does the safe area have to be all the way down there; why can’t it be over there.” She pointed to a spot on the property that was not too far from the building that housed the Governor’s home and office, a place that was within the drop zone of missiles that was launched by the explosions and was in the line of smoke for the area was on the same level of the house and the strong wind that come up from the sea.
One would have thought that the Governor’s wife was not listening to what the presenters was saying. It was clear that the area that the Governor’s wife was suggesting, without considering the danger that her suggested location posed; they were just about to change the safe zone to once again appease the Governor’s wife, ignoring the potential dangers of their decisions they were about to make and have made since the presentation begin.
I put up my hand and waved it so it will not be overlooked, when the presenter acknowledged my hand, I said I do not have a question about the presentation because the information is clear, however, I will like to address Lady Vereker, I said Lady Vereker, you have got to understand, that the member of the Bermuda Fire Department are trained men in their field, they clearly said that they used, their training in the several related field, they did research, and they used their experience in coming up with a scientific report and everything in their report and presentation was are based on sound scientific calculation.
You are not a trained person in any of the sciences, be it fire technology or the science of explosion or any of its related field;" I continued, "when you object to the firefighters recommendations, which is based on sound, practical and scientific calculations, what you are actually doing is, endangering your live, the life of your family, the life of Government house staff; the life of the police who work on the premises, who are expected to execute the altered plan and the life’s of the other emergency workers who will attend any emergency. You have to allow the train professionals to do their jobs to the best of your ability.” Then I respectfully said that is all I wanted to say.”
By the time I was finished speaking, I did not realize a hurricane blue over the Governor’s property. When I looked around, I realized that everyone had moved from around me. I was left standing with one other person; A St. Lucian police officer by the name of PC Peter Charlemagne, who is currently and inspector of police in the Bermuda Police Service.
Charlemagne was a young man who have served the people of St. Lucia for 10 years in the capacity of a police officer before taking up his new post in Bermuda with the Bermuda Police Service. At the tine of the event Peter had been serving in Bermuda as a police officer for about two years before I arrived to Bermuda. He refused to move and stood with me, because in his words, you were not saying anything wrong, you were not rude in you speech and what you said made sense. I got the impression, I beat Charlemagne to making the same remarks.
Contrary to what most of the people who were present thought and expressed, nothing came out of the harmless incident, I was never asked about it, I never spoke about it. This incident made the authorities took me serious and therefore, it gave me some leverage; when I discovered that the white police officers were treated differently from the black police officers. One day I brought up my observation of the racial disparity with regard to the treatments of the white police officer who came from England and the Black police officers who came from the West Indies. As a result, I informed my supervisor that I expected to be treated as if I am white and I will not accept anything less. As a result, I was treated with the utmost respect by all from the junior as well as senior staff of all rank.
The incident that occurred at the Government House, was kept alive within the Bermuda Police Service and within Bermuda by a Dominican Senior Police Constable by the name of: Kenrick Shillingford. Kenrick was the permanently assigned to duties at the Governor’s house, because of an injury he sustained. It was my good friend Mr. Shillingford’s self-appointed responsibility to jokingly remind me of that incident everywhere he saw me.
It could be on the job, when we were out on work social, at visit to his home or on the streets. It matters not where Kenrick sees me, he automatically sticks his hands into the air, then he will recite my little speech verbatim, in a distorted voice that mimics the way I speaks. Kenrick had a hell of a time sharing this story with his friend and family especially when I was around and he will literally die with laughter each time he share it. You would have though Kenrick have just heard this for the very first time.
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