The Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) is investigating the leakage of an internal document detailing numerous social media death threats against officers.
The threats followed Saturday’s police-involved fatal shooting of Maxwell Leo, alias ‘Hennessy’.
Maxwell, described as known to the police and a ‘notorious gang leader’, was on bail for a firearm possession charge when he sustained the fatal gunshot injuries.
According to the police document, verified as authentic by St. Lucia Times and which has gone viral on social media, there is a strong possibility that members of a named gang would retaliate for Duncan’s death.
The document included photographs of some alleged gang members, all of them residents of Marigot, where the deceased Maxwell Duncan also resided.
It also outlined measures to deal with the threats against officers.
A senior police officer who spoke anonymously to St. Lucia Times condemned the leakage of the internal police document, entitled ‘Law Enforcement Alert’, declaring that the leak would have come from a police officer.
The senior cop explained that Heads of Departments would have received the alert and would likely have shared it with their staff.
“This was an intelligence report meant for officers, not for the public,” the senior official explained, adding that the Police Commissioner should do all in her power to get to the bottom of the matter.
The probe into the leaked document comes amid a surge in deadly gun violence, primarily responsible for 44 homicides so far in 2024.
Just last week, the police announced the seizure of 12 319 rounds of ammunition and twenty-one illegal firearms between April and June this year.
In April, officers recovered nine firearms and 117 rounds of ammunition, four firearms and thirty-four rounds of ammo in May, and in June, eight firearms and 12 168 rounds of ammunition.
A police Facebook post described the seizures as ‘impressive‘.
However, some members of the public have complained bitterly about the court granting bail to individuals police charged with such offenses.
According to them, bail amounts to a slap on the wrist in an environment where gun crime has become a serious national concern.
(Story adjusted to reflect updated homicide toll)
