There has been mass social outcry about the handling of a situation at a local hotel, where two Police officers were repeatedly assaulted by two Caucasian visitors to St. Kitts. Unconfirmed reports suggesting that the two visitors have not been charged with any wrongdoing have only exacerbated the situation.
The tourist couple, who were involved in a brawl with two local police officers in uniform in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel, on Tuesday night January 1, departed St. Kitts on American Airlines yesterday morning, Wednesday, on a flight to Miami, a source has revealed.
The man and woman, whose names and nationalities are still unknown, were seen being processed by immigration authorities at the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport on Wednesday morning (January 2, 2019), according to the source.
“The persons I saw going through immigration at the airport, accurately resembled the persons I saw in the video posted on social media. They went out on the early American Airlines flight to Miami,” said the person on Wednesday night. The individual spoke on condition the name not be mentioned.
What started the police intervention Tuesday night in the hotel’s lobby was still not clear Wednesday night.
The two are seen on the video which has been widely circulated on social media, attacking the Police who were intervening in a situation. Both were arrested.
According to sources, the tourists should have been slapped with several charges including beating and assaulting a police officer and obstruction, but were released this morning, Thursday 3rd, around 8 ‘o’ clock.
The incident has sparked widespread opinion on how the situation should have been dealt with. There have been some who have applauded the officers for exercising exceptional restraint because of how sensitive the situation was and there have been others- the vast majority- who have contended that the officers should have utilized force to wrest control of the situation.
Questions are being asked as to why the two persons were not charged after they were arrested and who authorized their release and departure from St. Kitts.
“We are making enquiries and will be releasing a statement later,” the Police have said