Police are involved in the investigation into the deaths of two men who died in their custody, according to Deputy Commissioner Quinn McCartney. Authorities said Coroner Linda Virgill would conduct "independent and impartial" investigations into the deaths of Jamie Smith, 33, and Aaron Rolle, 20, who died while detained at two different police stations in Nassau on February 8 and 9 respectively.

It is still unknown why the men were arrested and how they died. However, McCartney admitted during an interview with The Nassau Guardian that Virgill did not have her own team of investigators. McCartney said, "We initiate the investigation because we would have done some things. But once the coroner gets involved, she takes possession and I think she has the authority to instruct or advise what she needs from us. We work in conjunction with the coroner and she directs the investigation. "We work on her instructions.

This is totally in her purview, right now, so if she says I need a copy of the photographs and says we need some statements, whatever it may be, we will be guided by Her Majesty's Coroner. The police have a role to play, but I would prefer you...to say the investigation is being led by Her Majesty's Coroner." According to McCartney, the force is not conducting a concurrent internal investigation into what happened while the men were in custody.

National Security Minister Dr. Bernard Nottage has said that the officers have been placed on administrative leave until the coroner concludes her investigation. McCartney was unable to say how many officers were suspended. In the wake of the custody deaths, Amnesty International and the Bahamas Human Rights Network (BHRN) have both called for the establishment of an independent body to investigate alleged police abuses to help restore public confidence in the police force.

In 2012, police fatally shot six people in contentious circumstances and one person died in police custody. According to the 2010 Attorney General's Report, there were 10 police-related deaths - eight shootings, one choke hold and one custody death - pending before the Coroner's Court. An inquest is a public inquiry into suspicious deaths and those that occur in the custody of the state. Recent amendments to the Coroner's Act removed the court's jurisdiction to make findings of homicide and determine civil liability.

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