Bermuda Police Protest March

Letter: Bermuda police protest march
Published on Saturday, July 26, 2008
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Dear Sir: When I saw my colleagues, the members of the Bermuda Police Service, put down their batons and take to the streets of the city of Hamilton in a public demonstration by marching in protest against what the Bermuda Police Association (BPA) considered as acts of blatant disrespect exhibited to its members by the government of Bermuda, I smiled with fascinated amusement.

There is no doubt the protest action, which was organised and executed by the Bermuda Police Association, was indeed a historic occasion; in that it was the first time (according to my research) in the history of the Bermuda that the police have ever publicly and knowingly participated in a protest demonstration of any type.

What was unfortunate, however, was that fact that it took money to inspire the Bermuda Police Association management committee to motivate its members to take to the streets in a sign of defiance to the government’s action. However, this only occurred after the government of Bermuda failed to comply with the outcome of the arbitration that both parties entered into in good faith. This act of paramilitary defiance came after the government opted not to honour the outcome of the arbitration but, instead, seek leave from the Supreme Court to prepare a judicial review application, which is aimed at overturning the decision that was arrived at during arbitration.

While the Bermuda Police Association exhausts its energies and other resources to ensure its members are well compensated, they ignore an issue of astronomical proportions. This crisis has been affecting and will continue to affect the members of Bermuda Police Association and it is an issue of life and or death for the BPA members.

According to the executive summary of the May 2003 study conducted by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constables (HMIC) Mr David Blakey, in paragraph 12, “Whilst officers have been given quite a range of safety equipment for use on patrol, they are less safe in the building that they work in, some of which are in contravention of the Health and Safety Code. HMCI personal observation revealed not only was the building unsuitable and unsafe to work in and to take prisoners to, they were also in stark contrast to other government buildings in Bermuda.”

In recommendation 9, HMIC recommended that the government of Bermuda examine its capital work projects to see if they can allocate funds to refurbish and or rebuild the police premises. HMIC saw this issue as a serious problem that needed urgent attention to ensure the safety and welfare of all police, prisoners, and members of the public who visit and work in police premises.

The foresight and insight of HMIC was tremendous. I am convinced that outgoing governor His Excellency Sir John Vereka and outgoing Commissioner of Police Jonathan Smith knew of the reputation and trusted the judgment of HMIC, hence the reason they commissioned HMIC to conduct this study. Yet no one paid attention to the findings in Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constable’s study. I also managed to access a November 2006 air quality assessment study that was conducted by Bermuda Water Consultant Ltd (BWC) on the Hamilton Police Station. The revelation that is contained in this study is terrifying.

This study revealed that the ground floor of the Hamilton Police Station has a concentration of mould and mould spores that is in excess of 29 times the acceptable level. What was unfortunate, however, is the fact that the report did not show the specific findings of the test that was conducted on the fourth floor of the Hamilton Police Station in November 2006. This part of the Hamilton Police Station is where the Criminal Investigation Department is housed and it is believed that this section of the building has the highest concentration of mould and mould spores than any other section in the entire building, so much so that the concentration of mould and its spores in this area, adversely affect the air quality to the extent that the air is a tainted, in that it transforms the air quality to a musty odour that permeates the entire vicinity.

According to the report, there are seven different species of mould that inhabit the Hamilton Police Station, which include:

The Aspergillus is considered to be the most potent of the group; this mould produces, among others, a toxin that is called Ochratoxin A, which is a key element in kidney failure. This mould is also responsible for causing invasive and chronic pulmonary Asporgillosis which can lead to sudden and unexplained (if you do not know what to look for) death if allow to go undiagnosed.
Basidiospores
Ascospores
Sercospora
Caldosportum
Curvularia
Smuits / Myxomycetes / periconia

Unfortunately there is not enough scientific study done on, or that is available to me on the other moulds that will allow me to justify or match some of the other symptoms I have been hearing of.

I am therefore seeking answer for the following questions:

1. Could it be that the unexplained and sudden death of Timothy Herbert, Paul Marsden and Andrew Wooldridge (all healthy men, Marsden and Wooldridge were avid sports men) were as a result of a build up of toxins in their bodies, which resulted from prolonged exposure to the mould-infested police environment?

2. Could it be that the sudden and unexplained diagnosis of severe kidney failure that was discovered in Emerson Donald (who the medical professional predict will have to be on dialysis for the next few years) resulted from the prolonged or periodic (some people has a disposition to become vulnerable to a toxin) exposure to mould and mould spores infested environment? After all, when Donald complained of becoming of ill when he was in a certain police building, but found relief when he was out of those environment, it was recommended that Donald be evaluated for psychiatric abnormalities.

3. Could it be that PC Donald’s body was giving him early warning of an environment that was unhealthy for him? Unfortunately, no one took Donald seriously, not even the medical professional took this young husband seriously.

4. Could it be that the sudden diagnosis of kidney failure in PC Julie is a result of prolonged exposure to the mould infested environment (after all she worked at the Hamilton for quite a while) where she assigned?

5. What could have caused the unexplained and sudden illness of my West Indian colleague who had gone through a battery of medical testes just a few months earlier and was given a clean bill of health by his family medical practitioner and by the police doctor after a thorough review of his medical records to ensure that this young man was fit to come to Bermuda? Could it be his life-threatening illness was a result of a prolonged exposure to a mould and mould spores environment?

6. Could it be that the unexplained and prolonged illness of PCs Raynor, Nurse and Smith be a result of the prolonged exposure to the same unhealthy environment?

7. Could it also be that the sudden and unexplained diagnosis of blood clod in both lungs of Wayne be as a direct result of prolonged exposure to the same unhealthy conditions that all the others were and are exposed to? Although this could also be as a result of deep vein thrombosis, which I doubt. For those of you who know PC Wayne as I do, PC Wayne is a fitness freak (jokingly speaking). However, putting jokes aside, PC Wayne took his health seriously, he worked-out on a regular basis and he is careful with what he eats. After visiting with PC Wayne (who was thankful for being alive) he explained the whole unfortunate episode to me, which included the symptoms he was experiencing. P C Wayne’s symptoms were consistent with the symptoms that are associated with “Invasive and Chronic Pulmonary Asporgillosis” which are: slight fever, chest pain, coughing, tiredness and the excretion of mucus mixed with blood. Very often an excretion of mucus mixed with blood is a sign that there is blood present in the lungs; and anywhere in the body there is a presence of blood there can be clotting.

8. Could it also be that the unexplained diagnosis of PC Yard’s aneurysm, the unexplained and sudden heart attack of PC Ryan and the many more personnel who are suffering from unexplained medical complications were and are a result of prolonged and/or periodic exposure to the unhealthy concentration of mould and mould spores-infested environment the government of Bermuda and the Bermuda Police Service require that all police officers work in?

9. Could it be that the two occasions when Allan Palmer experienced the sudden inability to breathe during circuit training, one severest bout that occurred while running the BPS training school steps (this was witnessed by Peter Clark who expressed concern) was also as a result of working for almost three years in contaminated environment?

10. Why did the BWC technicians feel the need to conduct a follow up study on 14th December 2006 on the 4th floor, which houses the CID offices?

11. Why the BWC technician didn’t see the need to conduct follow up tests on the other floors and areas of the Hamilton Police Station?

12. Was there a post mortem done on Paul Marsden, Andrew Wooldridge and Timothy Herbert?

13. Did the pathologist order toxicology reports for these men?

a) If no, why not?
b) If yes, what were the results of that report?
c) Were the total findings handed over to the family of these men?
d) Can the BPA access these reports?

I have a sneaking suspicion that the report that was made available to the public was an altered copy; for one thing, the pages are not numbered. This leads me to ask the powers that be this question, why didn’t you see fit to give public access to the findings of the study, which was conducted on the 7th November 2006 on the 4th floor of the Hamilton Police Station, which is located at 42 Parliament Street, Pembroke, and which houses the Criminal Investigation Department?

Carl Neblett, I implore you to leave the fighting of the government to your lawyers, there are more pressing and urgent matters for you and your association to be addressing; matters that needs your attention forthwith. There are far too many unanswered questions. I am recommending that you get in touch with each person whose name is mentioned in this article, including PC Emerson Donald, his lawyers, Wakefield-Quin, and Jack Thrasher, PhD (toxicologist). It is in the best interest of all involved that the members of the Bermuda Police Association are alive and in good health to enjoy the hefty 7 percent retroactive back pay that is coming to them and the increase in salaries.

It is very important that you move quickly before the government demolishes the building or the ongoing renovations completely rectify the problem, thus eliminating all possibility of ever recovering the evidence that can strengthen any case you and your BPA will be bringing on behalf of your members.

This study was ordered by the Office of the Commissioner of Police, so it is fair to conclude that the Commissioner of Police knew of the findings of this report. It will also be fair to say that, based on the potentially lethal finding of the study, the Commissioner of Police has an obligation to report his finding to the governor and to the government of Bermuda. If this is true why is it that the Commissioner of Police and the government of Bermuda still have the members of the Bermuda Police Service still working in the death trap that is the Hamilton Police Station?

It is important to note that, if any person dies as a result of complication caused by working in such environment, then all involved should be charged for Acceleration of Death under section

282 of the criminal code: 282 A person who does any act or makes any omission which hastens the death of another person who, when the act is done or the omission is made, is laboring under some disorder, injury or disease arising from another cause; is deemed to have killed that other person.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the families of Paul Marsden, Timothy Herbert and Andrew Wooldridge have a wrongful death civil or a similar case against the Bermuda Police Service and the government of Bermuda.

Allan Palmer