Don't give up, Anguillan blogger tells local writers

The decision by a number of notable social commentary bloggers in Bermuda to step away from the online world through disillusionment and a questioning of whether their efforts make a difference has reverberated elsewhere in the region.

The online community of Anguilla, in the British West Indies, is encouraging one of its most active bloggers not to follow the decision of Bermuda bloggers Limey in Bermuda (Phillip Wells) and 21 Square (Dennis Pitcher) who have recently pulled back from blogging.

The worth of blogs as a place where the community can discuss and debate what is happening around them — particularly in the areas of Government and politics — has been reinforced by online writers in Anguilla who follow the musings of lawyer Don Mitchell, CBE, moderator of the Corruption-free Anguilla blog.

They have encouraged him not to follow the decision taken by the high-profile Bermuda bloggers.

"Do bloggers really make any useful contribution? I am not the only one who has been asking myself this question. Recent developments with bloggers in Bermuda show that others are asking themselves the same thing," wrote Mr. Mitchell.

In his own reflection on what has happened in Bermuda, Mr. Mitchell, QC, noted also that a new Bermuda blog started last December by Policeman Allan Palmer, called Crushing Fools, saw only one post by the officer who Mr. Mitchell knew when he served in St. Vincent.

"He challenged his readers to take back the island from the criminals on the street. He called on the community to be "courageous" and to unite against violence and crime. He came in for high praise in the media. After his first article, he published nothing more. He loves writing. He would not have stopped without pressure. I suspect he was shut down by his superiors, never mind he was asking the public to cooperate with their police."

Mr. Mitchell, who is a native of the Caribbean and has lived in Anguilla since 1976, mentioned the re-election of the PLP as Government despite "revelations of shenanigans" within Government "frequently published prior to the election in the courageous mainstream press such as The Royal Gazette."

He told his readers that Bermuda's Mr. Pitcher, on his blog 21 Square, had received personal attacks that left him "tired, saddened and disillusioned" concluding that "Government representatives and their supporters prefer to shoot the messenger rather than discuss the message".

The retired lawyer said Limey in Bermuda's Mr. Wells had given detailed reasons why he was closing his blog, believing that continuing to criticise Government made things worse and attracted racially-intoned attacks, whether you were a blogger, a journalist or a member of the political opposition.

In considering the worth of blogging, Mr. Mitchell said it was misguided to think a blog could make a difference other than offer a place for alternative perspective and ideas.

He told The Royal Gazette he started blogging just over a year ago, explaining: "I was fed up with the silence in the community in the face of what seemed like obvious impending doom."

But he added: "I recognise blogging is a complete waste of time if the blogger intends it to achieve anything positive. It is a private mediation done in public. It is not a pulpit designed to influence and change people's behaviour. Blogging is most fun when the blogger does not care if a soul in the world agrees with what is written."

And on his blog he said:"After all, no politician is lying awake at night worrying about what is published about him on a blog."

In response, readers of the blog pointed to the difference between Bermuda and Anguilla — particularly in terms of mainstream media.

One said: "In Bermuda they have three real newspapers, one of them a daily. They don't hesitate to criticise the Premier and his friends. Lord knows what outrageous things Dr. Brown would do if he didn't have to think 'How is this going to look in the Gazette tomorrow?'" and opinioned that as Anguilla "doesn't have a real newspaper" or a "real opposition", Mr. Mitchell's was serving a needed role.

Police blogger faces disciplinary hearing

A policeman who was suspended from duty after launching an internet blog is to face a disciplinary hearing, his latest online entry reveals.

P.c. Allan Palmer tells visitors to his Crushing Fools website that he was served with a charge sheet on Tuesday containing six charges for an "internal trial" by Bermuda Police Service (BPS).
Five days before, he says, his bosses served him with papers ordering him to take down posts and not publish any more about the Police on his blog.

"These charges will give me an opportunity to vindicate myself and test the way the Bermuda Police Service does business in the future," he writes.

"It is strange that everyone is of the opinion that this whole trial was concocted or was rigged and even if I present a winning case I will be found guilty."

The father-of-three fell foul of his superiors after launching his online journal at the end of last year. The Royal Gazette reported on the site after he wrote a message urging the community to unite against violence.

His next post on January 23 was titled An Abuse of Power — Stepping Back into the Stone Age of Policing and claimed that "ambitious people" within the police service were trying to silence officers like him. He was suspended on full pay soon after.

The January 23 entry has been removed from the site but subsequent posts has been made.
His post this week does not detail the six charges. It reads in part: "It has been almost four months since I was suspended from the Bermuda Police Service and during this time, Bermuda Police Service seems to be dragging their feet in having my matter processed speedily."

He goes on: "Now I am very much satisfied that I am going to have my day at a trial."

He claims the orders to remove posts from his blog and an advert promoting the website on the back of his car are an attempt at censorship by BPS and in contravention of Bermuda's constitution and his right to freedom of expression.

P.c. Palmer told this newspaper he did not wish to comment and referred questions to his lawyer, who could not be contacted.

A BPS spokesman said: "The matter of P.c. Palmer is a subject of the Police Discipline Orders 1975 and, as such, no comment can be made at this time."

Blogging policeman resigns

A police constable who faced disciplinary charges after launching an online blog has resigned and will leave Bermuda in August.

Allan Palmer, from St. Vincent, told The Royal Gazette he handed his notice into Bermuda Police Service last Friday. "The whole thing is just a waste of my time and their time," he said.
"I'm not fighting for a job. It just doesn't make sense fighting with these people. They would have their own way no matter what happens so I have just decided to call it a day."

Mr. Palmer incurred the wrath of his superiors after launching his Crushing Fools blog at the end of last year. He posted a message on the internet journal in January — since removed — claiming that "ambitious people" within the Island's Police service were trying to take it back into the dark ages by silencing officers such as himself and "perverting the course of internal justice".

His bosses responded by suspending him from duty — but his critical posts about other officers continued.

Last month, Mr. Palmer was served with a charge sheet containing six charges and told to attend a disciplinary hearing.

The 41-year-old said he saw no point in going through the disciplinary process and has instead opted to leave the Island and look for work elsewhere.

He would not reveal where he intends to head next, claiming: "I don't want to say if I have got a job; knowing these people they will try to put stumbling blocks in my way."

He said he had no regrets about Crushing Fools. "I don't regret setting the blog up one bit. Everything has been worth it."

The single father-of-three said his decision to resign was partly fuelled by the fact that he wanted to spend time with his eight-year-old son Malique, who is going to England to live with his mother.

Mr. Palmer's other two children live outside of Bermuda.

"It's also time for me to move on," he explained. "Four years for me in Bermuda is quite enough. Bermuda has a lot of money to offer its workers but there is more to life than money.

"I would not be sad to leave the Island although I'll miss a few of the friends I have made. I'm just shooting off into the sunrise."

A BPS spokesman said: "The BPS does not comment on officers' personal HR matters."

Blogging Policeman suspended

A Policeman has been suspended from duty after posting allegations of "misdeeds" in the Bermuda Police Service on his internet blog.

The Royal Gazette reported on P.c. Allan Palmer's Crushing Fools site earlier this month, after he wrote a message urging the community to unite against violence.The St. Vincent father-of-three, who describes himself in his online journal as an "independent thinker", posted another message on January 23, titled An Abuse of Power Stepping Back into the Stone Age of Policing.
The posting - since removed from the site - claimed that "ambitious people" within the Island's Police service are trying to take it back into the dark ages by silencing officers such as himself and "perverting the course of internal justice".

P.c. Palmer claimed there was a tight-knit "mafia" of Barbadian officers who attempted to manipulate issues to make sure things go their way. He alleged that he began to have a bad experience in Bermuda Police Service (BPS) after raising concerns about a "practice that was sanctioned by the ... Barbadian Mafia".

"To have the guts to speak out against the discrepancies was the beginning of my troubles in the Bermuda Police Service," he wrote. "The protective little bunch launched an all-out attack on me."

He added: "In their effort to cover up the misdeeds and to once again aid in the miscarriage of internal justice, I became the focus of their negative attention.

"P.c. Palmer wrote that the "war was intensified" after this newspaper published an article on his blog on January 8. He claimed that the BPS viewed his blog entries, one of which questioned whether official Police statistics should include additional categories, as negative.

P.c. Palmer, who launched Crushing Fools in December, is understood to have been a Policeman here for about four years with his contract due to end next April. He wrote in the removed post: "One thing I am confident of is the fact that I left St. Vincent and the Grenadines an efficient and an effective police officer. The same goals I use in policing St. Vincent and the Grenadines are the same goals I use here; I ensure the people of the community can enjoy the comfort of their own homes and community without fear."

This newspaper sent e-mails to the BPS last Thursday afternoon asking for comment. It is understood that P.c. Palmer was suspended on full pay that day after a meeting with his superiors.

The 41-year-old's next post was on Monday (January 28), when he wrote:"By now the world should know that I am on suspension from the Bermuda Police Service, pending the outcome of an investigation which was initiated after I posted the last article on this blog."

A spokesman for BPS said last night: "The Bermuda Police Service can confirm that P.c. Allan Palmer has been suspended in relation to allegations of conduct that may have breached the Bermuda Police Service discipline code.

"We won't go into any of the specifics that he's made on his website at this time but we are actively looking into his breach at this point in time. We will not say anything else as this is an ongoing discipline matter."
What do you think? Should Police officers face disciplinary action for criticising their superior officers? E-mail your thoughts to news@royalgazette.bm

Blogger calls for residents to 'be courageous'

A serving Police officer has launched an Internet blog calling on the community to "be courageous" and unite against violence and crime.

P.c. Allan Palmer, who is originally from St. Vincent and is understood to have been a policeman in Bermuda for about four years, began posting messages on his Crushing Fools site last month — before the violence which marred the Island's Christmas celebrations.

The first entry in his online journal is titled: "It is time to take our community back."
P.c. Palmer writes that he has been told by members of the community that there are people with "sound and relevant information" on recent unsolved murders who are not coming forward.
"It was also brought to my attention that the individuals who have pertinent information that could be of evidential value and which may ensure the victims' families gain the closure they are looking for, are afraid of retaliation," he adds.

"Fear is never a justified reason to cause or aid in the miscarriage of justice. Everyone that resides in this tranquil community needs to be courageous."

Father-of-three P.c. Palmer, 41, who describes himself on his website as an "independent thinker", says residents of the Island need to be put aside their fear of retaliation if they want justice to be done.
"Courage is not the absence of fear but it is the willingness to act even when you are afraid," he writes. "If we use fear to allow an offender to evade prosecution, whether it is for the offence of murder or for an offence of a less serious nature, we are only empowering the criminal."

The entry, dated December 6, 2007, concludes that Bermuda is "still a very safe community" but P.c Palmer warns: "I can see the potential for things to get out of control. It will be a shame if the citizens and residents of this tiny island are made to live in a petrified state.

"Have we adopted the 'it's not my business' mentality? For the sake of this little island, I hope not."

On December 23 — just a couple of days before the Christmas shootings which left Aquil Richardson dead and two other men injured — P.c. Palmer posted another online entry titled: "Let the stats speak to you."

In it, he argues that official Police statistics on crime leave out key categories such as assault causing actual bodily harm, wilful or criminal damage and drug-related offences. He also points out rises in theft, burglary, assault causing grievous bodily harm and sexual assault between 2005 and 2006.

P.c. Palmer states that "murder has seen an unprecedented rise of 50 percent every two years. This can quickly become a frightening number. These are serious times."

There were two murders in Bermuda in 2003 and in 2004 and three in 2005 and in 2006.
P.c. Palmer did not wish to comment on the blog when contacted by The Royal Gazette. It can be found at http://crushingfools.blogspot.com.

Police blogger formally dismissed

Commissioner of Police George Jackson officially "dismissed" blogger Allan Palmer from the Bermuda Police Service on Wednesday,

Mr. Palmer faced disciplinary action from the BPS early this year and was suspended from duty as a result of postings he made on his Internet blog, 'Crushing Fools'.

The former officer — originally from St. Vincent — never gave up his blog and left Bermuda yesterday, although he declined to disclose his destination.

The Police Service, however, issued a statement on Mr. Palmer claiming that allegations on his blog were of "such a malicious nature" that the public needed to be assured of their untruthfulness.

"Firstly, it should be noted that Mr. Palmer has been the subject of a number of disciplinary matters here in Bermuda, regarding his conduct while a member of the Bermuda Police Service," the statement said. "These matters are conducted under the direction of the Deputy Commissioner."

It continued: "In his blogs, Mr. Palmer has continually misrepresented information and expressed personal views that are inappropriate for a member of the Bermuda Police Service."
The statement said that while the BPS does not normally comment on personnel matters, "the very public manner in which PC Allan Palmer has conducted himself necessitates a public response."

According to the Police release: "Mr. Palmer claims that the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Dr. the Hon. Ralph Gonsalves, Bermuda's Commissioner of Police Mr. George Jackson and one of his Superintendents, Mr. Randolph Liverpool, are all conspiring against him after he wrote an article critical of Dr. Gonsalves following sexual assault allegations made against the Prime Minister.

"This could not be further from the truth. Any suggestion of collusion or conspiracy is a complete fabrication.

"The Commissioner of Police for St. Vincent and the Grenadines has written formally to the Commissioner of Police Mr. George Jackson complaining about the conduct of Mr. Palmer, these matters relate to the internal discipline and are again under the direction of the Deputy Commissioner.

"Likewise the allegations by Mr. Palmer that his phones were tapped, listening devices were placed inside his room, that he was followed 24 hours a day for 3 months and that a female 'honeytrap' was set against him are preposterous and totally false."
According to the Police statement, Mr. Palmer's public statement that he has resigned in June was also untrue.

"PC Palmer remained a member of the Bermuda Police Service and subject to service discipline," the statement said. "(Wednesday) under powers vested in him by the Police Act, the Commissioner of Police has dismissed PC Palmer from Police Service."
Attempts to contact Mr. Palmer for comment were unsuccessful.