Ex-cop now charged with helping killer

(CNS) UPDATED: Hours after a story posted by CNS, Monday, the RCIPS have now said that an auxiliary constable who was placed on required leave following allegations that he threatened a witness in a murder investigation on behalf of the suspect has been charged. The officer, who can’t be named yet because of a court order, is accused of threatening the woman who eventually became a key witness in the case against Roger Deward Bush, who was found guilty of murdering his son, Shaquille Bush.

The 45 -year- old man who police said was fired from the RCIPS on Friday, is due in court, Tuesday facing two charges – one of Doing an Act to Obstruct, Prevent, Pervert, or Defeat Justice, and one count of Breach of Trust by a Public Officer.

A spokesperson for the RCIPS recently told CNS that a file relating to the case had been passed to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. “A criminal investigation was thoroughly conducted and a full file submitted to the ODPP for review. Meanwhile, the officer remains on police bail,” the RCIPS stated.

Bush was convicted of murder last month and is awaiting sentencing for gunning down his son in their family yard in Daisy Lane, West Bay, in 2019.

The case could have been solved sooner but the court heard how Nikkieta Ebanks, Bush’s long-term girlfriend and the mother of one of his children, was threatened by an auxiliary constable who visited her in a cell before an interview about the killing. The police officer told Ebanks to give no comment to the police and made it clear the message came from Bush.

During the course of the trial, the court saw evidence linking this officer to Bush, and in her ruling Justice Marlene Carter had taken this evidence as supporting Ebanks’ testimony and the conviction of Bush.

At the time of the officer’s arrest, Deputy Police Commissioner Kurt Walton said, “We take the conduct of our officers seriously, and are carrying out a full and thorough investigation. We expect the matter to be dealt with swiftly and to the full extent of the law.”

The trial also revealed that the gun used to kill Bush, which has never been recovered, was used in a catalogue of crimes and by a long list of offenders, some of which remain at large. The court heard that it was used in at least nine other crimes, including murder, attempted murder, robbery and other incidents where guns were fired to threaten or intimidate people between 2016 and 2019.

From the evidence that emerged in this case, it appears that shortly after the murder the gun was probably thrown into the ocean by Moises Bush, a family member and resident at the family compound where Shaquille was killed.