Witness disputes RBPF account of cop shooting of nursing mom

Police shot Vernique Russell as she nursed her son

A witness has disputed the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s account of the police-involved shooting of a nursing mom.

Vernique Russell, 27, was shot in the chest and is in serious but stable condition in the hospital.

According to the official version of the shooting, officers went to a home on Park Court Street in Sunshine Park to execute a search warrant.

The officers allege that they shot a pit bull dog that attempted to attack them as they entered the property—and that the bullet ricocheted and struck Russel in the upper body.

However, an eyewitness alleges that an officer put the muzzle of his gun through a hole in the gate and shot the dog and Russell, who was breastfeeding her son, before the officers forced the gate open.

A witness claims that the gate to the victim’s yard was closed when police opened fire, shooting a Pitbull dog and an unarmed woman

The police officers also arrested the victim’s boyfriend after he confronted them about shooting Russell in front of their children.

Police did not find anything illegal in the home.