A man died after a scooter accident in Anegada on Saturday evening, according to police, who did not identify him but said investigations are ongoing.
Immediately after the crash, the local police station was used to house the body until police officers could reach the island the next morning.
Police Commissioner Michael Matthews said that, despite online criticism for the perceived delay in retrieving the body, officers responded as quickly as possible.
“It was the simple fact that the sea was too rough to launch, simple as that — we couldn’t put the marine vessel out. It wasn’t safe to do so. You don’t put police officers’ lives at risk in order to go and do a job that actually wasn’t an emergency,” Mr. Matthews said during a press conference on Monday morning. “The sad part was somebody had passed away as the result of an accident. Once that person has died, that’s not an emergency anymore and I’m going to make sure my officers are safe before they travel, which they did eventually do and recovered the deceased accordingly.”
The commissioner also acknowledged that there is only one police officer on duty at any given time on Anegada, but that more officers may be sent over in the future.
“Financially, it is our intention as we grow the force to actually increase the number [of officers] on Anegada and Jost Van Dyke, because the public are entitled to feel reassured and secure,” he said.