The same day former friends, co-workers and family members of murdered Kimberly de-Leon gathered in Constitution Park to honour her memory and to call for swift justice in her case, Police Commissioner Severin Moncherry was explaining to reporters that his department would leave no stone un-turn in the on-going investigation.
He will be going as far as the Regional Security System based in Barbados and to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution here to seek advice just to prove his point of leaving no stone un-turn.
But Moncherry words may not be as comforting as he would like it to be to a public, which over the years, have not been trusting of police investigating police in the first place as it is with the de-Leon case in which police have confirmed that a person of interest in the case is a police officer.
Moncherry admits to being aware of the public perception and sought to allay any fears the same public may have regarding that situation.
“Let me assure members of the public that when we have such cases the police deal with it to the best of our abilities. We leave no stone un-turn. We dot every I and cross every T and that case in particular, because of public perception, we will ensure that we will do everything in our power to ensure that there is some sort of closure to this matter,” Moncherry said.
He added, “We are getting advice from the Director of Public Prosecution. I intend to seek technical advice and technical assistance from the Regional Security System. We will do everything in our power to ensure closure,” Moncherry said.
Members of the small group, which gathered at Constitution Park Thursday, donned orange t-shirts for the day in their plea for justice for de-Leon.
So far no one has been arrested, far less charged for the death of the 42-year-old mother of two. The person of interest assisting police is just that – a person of interest.
“The person of interest was interviewed. I will not say he was released because he was never arrested. He is assisting the police in statements being recorded, “Moncherry said.
It’s now five days since Kimberly was shot and killed in her home located at Chef Harry Drive, The Morne at about 10:30p.m according to police but someone in the neighbourhood told The Voice that gunshots were heard at 10:45.
Reports, which were later confirmed by police, indicated that Kimberly, prior to her death, may have been a victim of domestic abuse. Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Dorian O’Brian Tuesday said that he recalled two incidents in which police officers responded to and had to quell certain issues. O’Brian said the matter was dealt with by senior officers.
But not having a suspect in custody, charged and awaiting trial in that matter almost one week later is not worrying Moncherry much as he insisted that police are collecting as much information as they could and will deal with the matter of a suspect when that stage is reached.
Moncherry believes that the police force has the capability and competency to deal with any matter that surfaces within its ranks regarding its own members hence the reason he said there’s no need to get outside investigators.
“Because of public perception I would be happy to have independent investigators, however the laws right now do not make provisions for that. I am quite confident in the police officers I have in the organization to investigate this matter and investigate it properly,” Moncherry said.
The Police Commissioner said the person of interest – the police officer, is not on active duty at present. He told reporters that the officer applied for vacation leave amounting to 100 days.
