Mass protests over the police killing of an unarmed black man in the United States have spread globally.
There haven’t been any protests in The Bahamas over the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis by a white policeman.
However, residents of Bimini rioted after a black policeman killed an unarmed black man back in 2007.
Bahamas Court News takes a look at the incident that resulted in the conviction of a former policeman for manslaughter.
According to the prosecution, on December 22, 2007, Corporal Aubrey Carlston Darling was on patrol with his partner Constable Desmond Turner. They encountered Aschol Deon Rolle, 42, at the Bimini Breeze Bar in South Bimini. Rolle was drunk and cursing. Darling attempted to arrest him for disorderly conduct and Rolle put up a struggle and pulled a closed pocket-knife.
Eyewitnesses alleged Rolle no longer had the knife when Darling shot him in the face. After the shooting, witnesses recalled Darling said, “Lord, what I do?”
Riot
Rolle’s death angered residents and the ensuing riots overwhelmed the eight officers stationed on the island.
Residents firebombed the police barracks and the police station. They burned police cars, boats and kicked in security bars at the station.
Authorities sent 71 additional police officers and 22 Defence Force Officers from New Providence to restore calm. Darling was taken to New Providence.
Officials bypassed a coroner’s inquest and charged Darling with manslaughter on January 8, 2008. He was freed on bail.
One day later, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham addressed a town meeting on Bimini. Ingraham assured attendees, “In our society the rule of law prevails. No man or woman is above the law.”
Trial
After a preliminary inquiry, a magistrate committed Darling to stand trial in the Supreme Court in 2011.
But Darling’s trial didn’t take place until 2017. During his testimony, Darling said he met Rolle behaving in a disorderly manner outside the bar.
Darling said he warned Rolle about his behavior, but his conduct continued.
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As a result, he attempted to put him under arrest. In the struggle that followed, Darling claimed Rolle ended up on top of him. He claimed Rolle was shouting “I gon f****** kill you.”
Darling claimed that Rolle got to his feet and charged at Turner with the knife. That’s when, he drew his firearm and shot Rolle once.
Turner did not testify at the trial.
Jurors did not accept Darling’s evidence and convicted him of manslaughter on February 8, 2017. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison on July 25, 2017.
The Court of Appeal affirmed Darling’s conviction and sentence on January 15, 2019.
