I was working the grave yard shift with the Bermuda Police Service, Assigned to the Hamilton Police Station A watch. We were short staff; as a result, we had a few people from the different shift and department doing overtime on A watch. It was now time for me to go on my refreshments (Lunch break), as a result; I went back to the station to catch up on some work.
I had developed a record, of having never submitted a late case-file on an investigation. I also had the privilege of having most of the cases I investigated went to court and with the exception of two of the cases, I took to court, I secure convictions on each of the others. It is important to note that I have never lied, in a trial and neither did I took part in any unlawful or unethical activities that would have given a defendant a disadvantage.
Policing came very easy for me, although, in the early part of my police training, I was unsure, if I will ever be able to categorized the various offences. But I worked on the notion that if others can, I could.
Inspector Eswhick a Barbadian national was the inspector duty officer; he was manning the station while the Sargent was taking her refreshment. I was sitting in the reports room working on a case-file. There were four uniformed police offices in the station from the watch: there was the Jailer; a Barbadian, my partner was also a Barbadian national, the inspector who was also a Barbadian and myself a Vincentian.
My partner, was assigned to the Traffic Branch Motorcycle section; but tonight he was doing over time. We were sitting in the reports room talking while I catch up on my work. The Jailer came into the reports room very casually and said, the inspector said both of you must come into the jail area immediately.
So Myself and my partner casually walked to the Jail area. We were let into the jail area by the inspector after we made our arrival known. When we got to the reception area of the Jail area, the inspector pointed us to the cell area. When I looked into cell number two, I was shocked at what I saw.
I saw a white sheet, tie around the top bar of the cell, at the other end of the white sheet; I noticed, the sheet was securely tied around the neck of a man in the cell. The man was a prisoner of the Bermuda Police Service; and he was hanging by his neck. The man feet and carves were touching the ground; however, his buttocks were off the ground and his upper body was leaning onto the bars of the cell. That meant the pressure was still on man's neck, the process of suffocation was still actively being carried out.
I had no information about the incident but what I saw, I did not know how it happened, when it happened and at what time the prisoner that was hanging by the neck was discovered. But what I did know that someone's ass was grass and that ass was not mine. The inspector and the Jailer though the man was dead. The Jail just a month earlier, had resigned from his post, as a police officer from, the Barbados Police Force. A dead prisoner on his watch, was not a good situation. The inspector was also in trouble, as the supervisor of the shift, who were also station officer, because he was holding on for the Sergeant who were on their lunch break.
The unfortunate thing for those who were directly involved, there were surveillance cameras in the jail area, and there were also surveillance cameras in the cell area with a monitor on the desk of the jailer to monitor cell activities. As a result, the police and the other interesting authority, had at their disposal, the ability to look back on every second of the incident and the actions of those who were on duty, before the prisoner hang himself, how long he was hanging before he was discovered and what happened after the victim was discovered hanging in the cell.
The Casual response of the Jailer and the inspector when they discovered the man, hanging by the neck in the cell, did not look good for those guys. However, I am a natural emergency leader, I work and function best under pressure. I immediately took control of the situation. I said inspector where are the keys to the cell, open the cell now. As a result, the jailer quickly opened the cell, I rush into the cell and I tried to lift the man to take the weight off of his neck. Unfortunately, I was unable to life the man. I then call my partner over and I asked him to help me to lift the unconscious man, I shouted instruction to the inspector and the Jailer to untie the knot from the prisoner’s neck. Which they did.
After we have untied the hanging prisoner, the three Barbadian stood back and looked as I dealt with the prisoner. I made a quick check for a pulse but I did not detect pulse. Because we do not have the authority to declare death, I began to give the men chest pumps. This fellow was a heroin addict, who have tried to take his own life. Right there and then, I have decided, I was not going to try to resuscitate this fellow by giving him mouth to mouth.
The reason why I was not willing to give this man mouth to mouth resuscitation even if it was to save his life, was simple - I am a father and I was not going to risk contracting any of the Hepatitis, or any other disease to save the life of a man who did not want to live. I was not going to deprived myself of full interacting of my children, because I foolishly contracted some disease. I also wanted to get married, and I was not going to deprived myself of fully enjoying the pleasure of my wife because I wanted to save the life of an individual who did not want to live.
However, after a few chest pumps, I look around; and I came to a strange and stunning realization. I was alone with the unresponsive man with no pulse in the cell area of the Jail. I could not believe what was happening. So I left the man unattended for a while, just long enough to see what was happening. I went out into the reception area of the station, to see, the three Barbadian in a huddle having a discussion. I did not know what they were speaking about. However, I get the impression they were plotting, how to pin the death of the prisoner on me.
I then shouted, Inspector let us get the man to the hospital immediately, it was then the inspector instructed the Jailer to get the key to the big gate and to open the gate, as well as instructed my partner who were my senior to bring the car around in the yard. We load the unresponsive, unconscious man with no pulse into the back of the police vehicle. My partner was sitting in the driver’s seat. I said Inspector as soon as we leave you need to do two things.
First you need to call 911 and report an attempted suicide by hanging and have them dispatched an ambulance to the station, after you finished with that call, you need to call the King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH), and informed them to expect an unresponsive male, who had attempted to commit suicide by hanging. My instruction to the inspector was to help him and the Jailer to covering their asses; just in case the prisoners attempt to kill himself was successful. It will show that he actually took some type of actions on the prisoner’s behalf.
Secondly; If the emergency team at the King Edward Memorial Hospital, knew we were on our way to their facility, with an emergency and the nature of the emergency, they were required to deal with, they would be in a better position to facilitate our arrival to their facility and be better able, to render to the patient the best life saving medical care they were able to. Thus giving us a better change of the patient surviving the attempted suicide.
When we pulled into the hospital there were no one to meet us, the orderly had to be rushing to get a stretcher and the quick thinking by one of the orderly he opened the back door that give us immediate access to the emergency room. The quick intervention of the doctors they resuscitate the prisoner. I said, to the staff: "I though you would have been prepared for our arrival;" then I asked: "Didn’t anyone call you and tell you to expect us?" The emergency staff which was led by Vincentian Emergency Specialist and who was the doctor on Duty Roslyn Bascombe said not one call and informed us of the incoming emergency.
When I got back to the Hamilton Police Station, I asked the inspector if he called 911 as I told him to he said "no" then he continued: "after you all left, I did not see the sense in calling 911 and have them dispatched the ambulance to the station." I said and I guess you did not call the emergency room and told them to expect us either he said not he did not. It was then I told him: "those calls that you did not make, were meant to protect you in the event that prisoner die." I then turn to him and said, "if that prisoner had die, you would have been out on the streets; looking for a job today; all because of your lack of response to such a serious emergency."
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