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Grenada’s police commissioner Willan Thompson said the beating death of a Canadian resident is an isolated incident, and not a symptom of a broader problem.
He was speaking to the media about the death of Oscar Bartholomew, a 39-year-old permanent resident of Canada and a citizen of Grenada, died over the Christmas holiday weekend after he was allegedly beaten to death by police officers at the St. David’s police station. The beaten occur after Mr. Bartholomew hugged a female officer he mistook for a childhood friend.
Police Commissioner Thompson said Thursday two officers have been detained and are being questioned in regards to the incident, but no one was arrested or charged with the crime.
“Let me assure everyone that this matter is being investigated in a most professional manner,” Thompson said. “I want to assure the nation that this is an isolated event.”
The names of the officers detained were not given. .
Thompson said other officers working at the St. David’s police station at the time Bartholomew was killed have been reassigned to other responsibilities.
Bartholomew, who was in Grenada on vacation with his Canadian wife, was described as a loving and affectionate person by relatives.
Bartholomew’s family said he had stopped at a police station in St. David’s on Monday so that his wife could use the washroom. According to accounts he thought he recognized a female officer and gave her a hug from behind, lifting her off the ground, before realizing his mistake.
He was then beaten, allegedly by police, and taken to the General Hospital where he died hours later.
An autopsy report showed that Bartholomew died from a fractured skull, brain trauma, internal cranial bleeding and a brain hemorrhage.
Although Bartholomew was not a Canadian citizen, officials from Foreign Affairs in Ottawa said they are offering the same services they would to a citizen, since Bartholomew’s wife is Canadian.
However, it is unlikely they will help hire a doctor or interfere with Grenada’s investigation.
