Faced with a new round of questions over police reporting of crime, Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade last week went off into his characteristic defensive, emotional overreaction.
We saw it in 2012 when we questioned him on the failure of police to report a spike in rapes in New Providence.
We also saw his bizarre and angry response a few weeks ago after we reported a drug suspect was allowed to marry at Central Police Station.
The thing about this kind of response from the commissioner of police is that he often leaves us confused over who his anger is directed at.
Such was the case last week after we reported the United States Embassy had advised its citizens of an attempt to rob an armored truck outside Wendy's restaurant at Cable Beach just over two weeks ago.
The attempted robbery, according to the Americans, happened at 5:30 p.m. on a Friday.
The Bahamian public was told nothing about two criminals escaping in the area after the incident.
Bahamian police failed to report the crime to this country's citizens.
Last Monday, The Nassau Guardian reported that Assistant Commissioner of Police Anthony Ferguson confirmed the attempted robbery and denied there was any attempt by police to suppress reporting of the incident.
A day later, Free National Movement Deputy Chairman Dr. Duane Sands, who was contacted by us for comment, questioned whether the failure of police to report the crime was an accident, a deliberate omission or whether the political directorate sought to suppress that information.
Responding to reports on the matter, Greenslade said in an interview with The Nassau Guardian, "Please, I beg you, stop selling The Bahamas short.
"I have difficulty with that and I am not sure what that agenda is [but] it must be an agenda, and it is not a good agenda."
When asked who those comments were directed at, Greenslade did not respond directly.
"I am not sure what the agenda is," he reiterated.
"I will tell you whatever has been said based on the intelligence I have, and the intelligence our people in this country have, there is something terribly wrong with the conversation."
Despite the failure of police to report the matter, Greenslade said he is satisfied with the level of transparency of the police force.
He also said it was "out of order" for any comments to have been made on the matter without him properly verifying the facts.
In an apparent reference to comments made by Assistant Commissioner Ferguson, Greenslade blasted, "No other person reserves the right to speak for me unless I brief them.
"And those people that I brief are the minister of national security and the right honorable prime minister of this country.
"And anyone else is offering an opinion and the public would do very well to be careful of those opinions."
Anyone listening to the police commissioner could easily see why we were left confused by his comments.
Who exactly is he accusing of selling The Bahamas short?
Was it the media for daring to question him on the failure of police to report certain incidents?
Was it Dr. Sands for raising questions on the matter?
Who exactly is he accusing of having an agenda? And what agenda is he talking about?
And what of the strange response that seemed to be directed at Assistant Commissioner Ferguson?
Was the commissioner suggesting that this very senior officer was out of line to respond to a reporter's questions on this incident?
There is no one in this entire matter who spoke for the commissioner, so who exactly is he referring to when he said "no person reserves the right to speak for me unless I brief them"?
A more appropriate response from our police chief would have been an explanation on why the public was not made aware of an attempt to rob an armored truck at a very busy restaurant in a highly-populated area on a Friday afternoon.
Wouldn't everyone living in Cable Beach want to know that three criminals had just tried to rob an armored truck and escaped into their neighborhoods?
MISTRUST
These kinds of statements from the police commissioner do not foster goodwill and trust between the police and the public.
They do nothing but feed the sentiment of mistrust in the organization.
Minister of National Security Dr. Bernard Nottage also did nothing to help the situation.
He reported on the floor of the House last Wednesday that the matter had in fact been reported, but he failed to expand on his claim.
In fact, his statement appeared disingenuous, or perhaps he himself was not properly briefed.
Neither the minister nor the commissioner would be able to point to any report to the public of an attempted robbery of an armored truck outside Wendy's in Cable Beach Friday before last.
The truth is, police did not report what happened.
We went back to our police report on that date, just to be sure.
Here is what police reported in relation to the attempted robbery of an armored truck:
"According to reports, around 6 p.m. on Friday 21, March 2014, police acting on intelligence went to the parking lot of a shopping complex located at western New Providence, where they uncovered a handgun along with a quantity of ammunition. No one was arrested in connection with this incident. Investigations are ongoing."
If you are waiting to read the part about the three criminals who attempted to hold up the two armored truck workers transferring money into the truck, then your best bet would be to refer to the report from the United States Embassy.
All of us as citizens and residents of The Bahamas ought to be concerned about whether police are accurately reporting crimes and in their full context.
This debate erupted earlier this year when Sands highlighted that police statistics on shootings and rapes are notably lower than records kept by Princess Margaret Hospital.
It was another moment that placed Greenslade on edge.
If the failure to properly report this one incident involving the armored truck was an oversight then our commissioner and our national security minister should explain it as such.
Their credibility rides on such matters.
Too often our officials respond to public concerns and media probing with defensiveness and obfuscation.
How are we to have trust in our police officials and indeed in our government officials when the attempted armed robbery of an armored truck outside a popular restaurant on a Friday afternoon is reported as a firearm discovery in a parking lot?
This kind of vague reporting cannot be trusted and ought not be defended by a commissioner of police and a minister of national security who appear more concerned about their reputations than keeping us safe.
We as citizens should be outraged and offended that we have to learn of such matters from the United States Embassy and not our police officials.
The commissioner's recent statements do not help his image or that of the force he leads.
Disingenuous statements and incomprehensible comments to reporters leave us wondering what we can believe from our leaders who are responsible for the security of our nation and its people.
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