Grenada detains 3 more officers

Oscar Bartholomew/TheStar

Liam Casey and Noor Javed

Staff Reporters – The Star

Three more police officers have been detained in the death of a Toronto man in Grenada after a witness described seeing Oscar Bartholomew bound and beaten.

The witness told police Friday that five Grenadian police officers swarmed Bartholomew after an incident with a female police officer, brought him into a jail cell, tied his hands and feet and beat him.

Two officers were previously detained in Bartholomew’s death. The three additional officers were detained on Friday after the witness came forward, according to the family’s lawyer Derick Sylvester.

Bartholomew, 39, died in hospital Tuesday as a result of massive head injuries. His family has since demanded an independent autopsy and investigation into Bartholomew’s death.

They will get their wish on one count as their lawyer is bringing in Dr. Hubert Daisley, who is scheduled to arrive from Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday morning, to perform an autopsy on Bartholomew.

Pathologist Nicholas Redhead, in his post mortem for the police, determined Bartholomew died due to brain trauma, a brain hemorrhage and intra-cranial bleeding.

“His examination wasn’t thorough enough,” Sylvester said.

It’s doubtful that the family will be granted their second wish for an independent investigation. Grenadian Prime Minister Tillman Thomas called for an investigation into Bartholomew’s death after hearing about reports of police brutality, but said he is satisfied with the Royal Grenada Police Force’s pledge for an unbiased investigation of its own officers.

Bartholomew, a native of Grenada who has lived in Canada for the past 10 years, left for the small Caribbean island last week to visit family over Christmas.

On Monday, Bartholomew was with his wife when they stopped outside St. David’s police station. According to family and friends, Bartholomew snuck behind a woman and gave her a bear hug.

Bartholomew mistook the woman, a police officer who may or may not have been in uniform, for an old friend.

Sylvester is adamant the investigation will be biased and wants Canada’s help to ensure a proper investigation is conducted.

SOURCE: Toronto Star