Cops threatened after hospital break-in
Patient Financial Services Department
(CNS): An unarmed police officer in pursuit of burglary suspects was threatened by one of the men as they fled the scene early Tuesday morning. Police said that the officer went to the hospital in George Town following a report to 911 that a burglary was in progress there at around 4:30am. Two men dressed in dark clothes had been spotted at the rear of the hospital and when the uniformed officer arrived, he saw one man dressed in a black, long-sleeved hoodie with his head covered, wearing what appeared to be blue jeans. The man ran towards Smith Road through the hospital parking lot, and the officer ran after him.
During the chase across the parking lot, the suspect swung a heavy metal object at the officer and as he reached for his waistband he threatened to shoot the officer, who was not armed. The officer then slowed his pursuit but saw the man escape over the fence of a residence near the hospital.
It was discovered that the Patient Financial Services Department had been broken into but police said that the burglars appear to have been disturbed and nothing was taken.
Hospital officials also confirmed that the department was closed Tuesday and patients needing assistance with insurance cover or claims should contact the hospital’s main line 949-8600. The office was scheduled to re-open Wednesday at 8:30am.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call George Town CID at 936-7512. Anonymous tips can be provided via the Miami-based call centre of Crime Stoppers at 800-8477(TIPS), or online here.
Give dude a visa to US and let him threaten a cop there.
This should be an easy case to crack. Off all the places to try to rob, you would have to get inside details to even bother to consider such and act.
I will use this spot to see if by chance the crime rate goes up, at the same time that we have a lot of criminal children being imported for summer.
Before a visa is issued to those children, the responsible department should investigate and confirm that the children would be supervised all summer for the length of their visit.
Going on vacay to the Caymans has always been on my Bucket list. Now-not so much.
Because Orlando is safer?
Everywhere in the world has crime.
Problem is, I wouldn’t trust many cops with a gun here.
Drugs go missing, motorcycles get stolen from their compound, and whilst many are excellent officers – there are some who I wouldn’t trust not to shoot A) an innocent passer-by B) Themselves.
Half of them cannot operate a vehicle, much less a gun!
These utterly idiotic anti-gun policies will end up getting a cop killed. This anti-gun feel-good lunacy only insures that ONLY the criminals have guns. They are *criminals* because *they don’t obey the freaking laws*. Criminals only understand one thing, and its not reasoning, its not compassion, nor nice words its: -> Aggressive overwhelming use of force <-. I'm willing to bet that the old man that shot that burglar with a shotgun, never got broken into again. ever.
Jamaican
Ummm … there’s a Patient Financial Services Department??? How I never heard about this?!! All the money with wrong medications!! 🙁
Never heard of it!!. We have the world’s most patient Hospital Financial Services Dept. It should make the Guinness Book Of World Records for it’s patience.
Errrr … I don’t like to die and kick with patience :((
This has become our daily bread ?.. What a disgrace.!!
why are cops unarmed again?
Question…why would only one officer (being unarmed) respond to the report of a burglary being in progress? Is the Police Station not a minute away from the GT Hospital? Here’s a clue.. if you know you’re unarmed and out-numbered, why not request immediate back-up? I’m sure the odds of having a better chance of apprehending the burglars would have been on the up side. Although…the thieves were probably armed with a weapon and because they are fully aware that the law does not allow our Police Officers in the Cayman Islands to carry a weapon, they do not respect nor regard Police Officers. Police need to be able to defend themselves. Hopefully the laws will be amended which will enable officers to be properly equipped with a weapon to protect themselves. What are they to defend themselves with.. should they throw coconuts at the criminals?
Crime is not getting out of hand in Cayman…it is beyond out of hand and getting worse everyday! Read the newspapers and watch the news and remember, not every incident is reported to the media. Time to stop trying to impress the tourists, trying to portray that Cayman is so safe that our Police Officers don’t even have to carry guns. Hello… tourists read the newspapers and listen to the news too. And remember the internet is a powerful tool – the click of a few buttons, anyone wanting to know anything about the Cayman islands, including the crime rate, can access that information very easily. How about arm our Police Officers and it will deter a lot of the criminals from committing more offences.
Well when 911 reported this incident on the radio all officers carrying one or in a vehicle would have heard it and more than one should have responded. Perhaps that officer was already at the hospital? Perhaps he was closest to the incident? If I was in his shoes I would have made observations from a safe distance and alert the others of direction of travel and dress. On the other hand though, had the public known an officer, alone and off duty, was there and did nothing, the Police would have still been accused of letting a burglar get away. The poor police can do nothing right no matter what!!!! There was an article recently of a police officer being shot while responding to a burglary. So maybe the new trend in the dependent territories is to shoot at police?
Look, each Officer is taught to follow procedures. If you know you’re out-numbered and unarmed – don’t go in alone! Wait for back-up! I believe our Police Officers should be trained and equipped with a gun. They should be able to defend themselves! Can’t blame the Officer for slowing his pursuit after seeing one of the criminals reaching for his waistband – perhaps having a gun. I believe our the Police has a huge disadvantage by not having weapons to defend themselves.
There are armed police in Cayman. They just weren’t the first ones to the call. When a shooting is reported, or someone is seen with a gun, it is the armed cops that go out. But this was a burglary. You can’t always know based on the 911 call how the incident is going to turn out. So yes, if all cops were armed then it wouldn’t matter because everyone of them would have a gun, and no matter how a report turned out they would have fire power to defend themselves. But the more guns that are on the street, even if some more of them are in the hands of the cops, means more shootings, more deaths. Of cops too. It’s just an unavoidable fact. Remember that. I grew up in the States, and I have lived in some bad neighborhoods in my life, and definitely if I were a cop in those areas I would not want to go anywhere without a gun. But the crime on this island is nowhere near that. Whenever I hear people complain about crime on this island it’s clear that they need to realize this place is not a bubble. It exists in the modern world, like everywhere else. Even so, the crime here is not bad at all and you should hold off on all cops having guns if you can.
While I can appreciate where you’re coming from….you are speaking from your experience growing up in the States, comparing the level of crime by what you are used to. And I am merely doing the same. Being a Caymanian, I am comparing the crime in the Cayman Islands by how crime free Cayman used to be. You could once leave your doors and windows open day and night, without having to worry about intruders but now, there are thugs walking our streets with guns that does not regard anybody or their properties. They believe it’s ok to take what’s not theirs by intimidation or by force. It is getting increasingly worse and if we choose to ignore it, by not allowing ALL Police Officers to be armed to protect themselves, then it is leaving the door wide open for criminals to take advantage of our communities. Neither of us are safe, Caymanians, expats – both residents and visitors. We as the community need to know that the RCIPS can function to protect these islands and every one living here. Training and equip them (with guns) which will enable them to be able to protect themselves and us overall. A 12-inch LED flashlight won’t cut it – sorry!
I understand your point – but please remember that giving all cops guns is not going to change this. The difference between then and now has to do with the drug trade, which has grown substantially throughout the region in the past decade. This is beyond something local law enforcement, or even government, can change. Drugs bring burglaries and robberies. Drug addicts need their fix. Half of the serial burglars on this island are drug addicts. They go to jail, get out, and set about burgling again because they need their fix. Very few will change. I’m sorry, you can go ahead and give cops guns, but it won’t bring your old crime-free Cayman back. There are bigger forces at play here than what local law enforcement can do – and that is the drug trade throughout the region and globally. I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Far better than giving all cops guns would be if people (anonymously even) give the cops tips about the drug dealers and drug activity they know of. Drug treatment programs for people getting out of prison too. By the time the cops are dealing with it the game is over.
Didn’t he have a police car that he could have used to pin him against the fence?
Wish he would have!
You are clueless. So he’s supposed to run back, jump in his police car, and run the guy down? Not only is it not practical at all, you’d be online screaming that the police ran down an unarmed man! (because he was probably just pretending he had a gun anyway, but of course the officer can’t know that) So think before you type for a change.
It was an ironic reference to Baines, not a serious suggestion. SMH.
Baines style