ST THOMAS, United States Virgin Island, Monday September 7, 2015 – Acting Governor Osbert Potter has declared a state of emergency in the US Virgin Islands on the heels of an upsurge in shootings in St. Croix.
He also appealed to residents to help police arrest the violence.
“As the vicious cycle of senseless murders and gun play permeates our territory, I appeal to the residents of this community, who are the parents, relatives, friends, and associates of the victims, to cooperate with and assist police and all law enforcement agencies in their efforts to solve these crimes,” he said.
“Since many of these violent crimes seem to be retaliatory in nature, we must, as a community, change the mind set of victims and their associates, who too often take it upon themselves to resolve matters on their own, as if to preserve some code of honour.”
Potter added that unless “misguided” attempts to enforce “street justice” are discouraged and overcome, “we will continue to bury more and more of our residents, particularly those among the young male population”.
“The time has come, if we are to survive as a community, for each of us to demonstrate responsibility, and share what we know with our law enforcement community, and enable our duly authorized professionals to do the jobs which they have been trained to do,” the governor said.
The state of emergency will remain in place until otherwise ordered by the governor.
Under the current order, all territorial peace officers are hereby deputized as law enforcement officers to perform public safety functions.
Potter said several actions were being taken by the authorities, including: setting up checkpoints, cancelling all police leave, and placing officers on 12-hour shifts.
No curfew has been imposed.