They burst into the scene of darkness Bahamas parliament after the announcement of senior police officers on drug-trafficking charges sparked a heated debate over corruption, in which opposition MPs threw a ceremonial window at the leader of the Scipio.
In the incident, Shanendon Cartwright approached the speaker of the opposition Free National Movement, Patricia Deveaux, after she was not allowed to speak, grabbed a member of parliament and threw her out of a nearby window.
There was an uproar as the country’s chief police officer, Commissioner Clayton Fernander, resigned after the indictment of three police officers in what the US Department of Justice described as “a large-scale cocaine smuggling conspiracy by corrupt Bahamian government officials, including high-ranking members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.”
U.S. prosecutors said that by May 2021, traffickers smuggled tons of cocaine through the Bahamas with the help of corrupt local officials who controlled airports and disclosed information about the movements of the U.S. Coast Guard.
According to the indictment, officials promised or gave gifts ranging from $10,000 to $2m to facilitate the trade, including the movement of 1,320lbs (600kg) of cocaine through the Bahamas international airport.
On Wednesday, dozens of protesters, angered by allegations of police brutality, gathered outside parliament shouting: “The police are criminals!”
Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis said his government was working to address the issue and accused the opposition of trying to reduce division at a time when the country needed unity as its “reputation was under fire”.
Davis described Wednesday’s incident inside the House of Parliament as a “premeditated and coordinated” attack that left the speaker himself with a concussion and a police officer with an injured leg.
The prime minister pledged to tackle corruption and restore faith in the police. On Wednesday, he announced new laws to “create the first, independent police inspections.”
Davis also recommended a replacement for the role of chief commissioner.
“I recommend that the assistant commissioner of police with responsibility for the northern district, Shanta Emily Knowles, be appointed as the next commissioner of police for the nation. The profession is strong and determined, ready to lead the force through an era of substantial reform,” the prime minister’s statement said.
But Cartwright said the country was “in the butchery” and accused the government of suppressing the voices of the Bahamian people.
Defending his actions at the meeting on Wednesday, he said: “The staff is a symbol of the speaker’s authority which has been given to him by the people of the Bahamas.” Today we say enough is enough and return the power to the people.