Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade said while his "heart grieves" for Sergeant Wayne Rolle, who was recently murdered, it is "nonsense" for anyone to suggest that the off-duty officer would have stood a better chance if he was armed.
Around 7 p.m. on December 11, Rolle was shot dead on Montrose Avenue and Durham Street. He was found slumped over in a jeep.
The day after the shooting, Police Staff Association (PSA) Executive Chairman Inspector Dwight Smith said officers should be allowed to carry firearms when off duty.
Asked whether he believes Rolle would have stood a better chance of surviving had be been armed, Smith said he did not want to speculate.
However, he said whether an officer is off duty or not, that officer is expected to fulfill his duty to protect the public.
When asked, Greenslade said any suggestion that Rolle would have survived if he was armed is "nonsense".
"Let me take away from the public and from my officers, and for many of you listening, this view that because you have a gun you are all powerful and you are safe," Greenslade said.
"That is a flawed impression. If you have a gun and your back is turned, and the bad person knows you have a gun, you're dead if they come upon you from the rear."
Greenslade said he has spoken to Smith previously and intends to speak with him again today.
"I have reminded him of the laws of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas...that he does not speak for the commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force on matters of discipline or promotion," he said.
"...As commissioner I have been very respectful and decent as far as my utterances.
"I am going to ask him finally to stop it.
"I have said it to him privately and...I blame the press for entertaining it.
"Stop encouraging disrespect. I have had sufficient of that. The law is clear that he is to consult the commissioner, speak to me, write to me and bring to my attention issues of concern."
Greenslade said focus should be placed on solving Rolle's murder.
"What I would like to hear him or any other officer say, if authorized to speak, [is] that you should please turn in the murderer," he said.
"Please turn in the person that murdered Sergeant Wayne Rolle.
"Please turn in the people [who] have murdered our citizens."
Greenslade said no one should assume an officer is not armed.
"I have a duty of care and I have exercised it," he said.
"I am telling you, notwithstanding what you hear, police officers are well-trained.
"They are well-armed and in sufficient numbers that this public can be comfortable.
"What I am more concerned about, is that given the number of firearms this commissioner has in the hands of police officers of all ages, that the officers understand how heavy that obligation is if they use that weapon."

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