KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – The cop who drove without a driver’s licence the uninsured vehicle that struck and killed a 14-year-old boy on Boxing Day has been fired.
Word of this came from Commissioner of Police Keith Miller Wednesday night, when he appeared as a guest on a radio talk show.
La Croix resident Steffan Cruickshank, a fourth form Grammar School student, died when he was struck by a vehicle while riding his bicycle along the Mesopotamia public road on Dec. 26.
Miller did not identify the ex-cop but said he has since fired the officer.
“That person is no longer a policeman today, because I believe he acted with gross misconduct,” Miller said.
“He acted with gross negligence [knowing] that he was not the holder of a driver’s licence to put himself on the road to be involved in what is happening today,” the top cop further stated.
“Because of that, I discharged him from the Police Force. So he is no longer a policeman,” Miller said in response to a caller’s question.
“You ask the question whether that police man was the holder of a valid driver’s licence and I can tell you he was not. You asked me whether the vehicle he was driving was insured and I can tell you it was not, by virtue of the fact that someone drove that vehicle without being the holder of a driver’s licence,” Miller said, confirming what has been rumoured for weeks.
He said that police are still investigating and added that he and other high-ranking members of the constabulary visited the scene on the day of the incident, “trying to ascertain what happened”.
“From where I sit, the matter is still under investigation and the investigators are still trying to ascertain what happened that day because we are getting different stories, we are getting mixed stories,” Miller said.
“I was not there. I was not an eyewitness so I have to depend on eyewitness who saw what happened,” Miller added.