Miller: Lawyer’s killing could have been averted

Had two pieces of information been brought to the attention of the local police, popular lawyer Bertram Stapleton may have been alive today.{{more}}

This is the opinion of Commissioner of Police Keith Miller.

During his address at the Conference of Non Commissioned Officers which took place on Tuesday at the Old Montrose Police Station, Miller aired his feelings concerning the brazen daylight execution of Stapleton, who on July 23rd was killed while on his way to his office on the third floor of the Hinds Building in Kingstown.

“It’s a pity; if two pieces of information had been passed to us, Mr. Bertram Stapleton would have been alive today.”

The first “piece of information” referred to a newspaper article which appeared in the News newspaper on July 18th 2008, where a female attorney whose office is also in the Hinds Building indicated that a stranger had come to the premises, enquiring about a lawyer she said did not exist.

The lawyer reported the matter to the newspaper and not the police, according to the Commissioner, believing that she was being ‘scoped out’ by the police.

“That member of the court was irresponsible; had this piece of information been passed on to us, we would have been able to have surveillance on the building in our own way.”

Miller further stated that on the day of the shooting, a masked man with a gun was seen in the building by a someone working there and that person failed to alert authorities; an act which he described as unbelievable.

While the commissioner admonished the behavior of these persons, he commended those who have been supplying the police with leads that have led to a number of key arrests.

He also urged the officers present to keep their eyes and ears open at all times.

“Do not sleep. Our responsibility is a hard and tough one in which we cannot be playing around with the security of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.”

A special sitting of the High Court of Justice was held yesterday, Wednesday, 30th July, to pay special tribute to the slain lawyer. Stapleton was laid to rest yesterday after a funeral service in his hometown Chateaubelair.