The UN and Haitian police are investigating after three RCMP officers were robbed in Haiti’s capital. Seen here, a camp for people made homeless by the 2010 earthquake sits across the street from the Haitian National Palace in Port-au-Prince. (Dieu Nalio Chery/The Associated Press)United Nations security officials and the Haitian National Police are investigating the armed robbery of three RCMP officers in Haiti’s capital.
Reached by phone in Port-au-Prince, United Nations Police spokesman Jorge Moreno Inocencio said the stickup happened late Saturday night and only lasted minutes.
There are more details in a document obtained by CBC News. Rudy Etienne of British Columbia, Bruno Arseneau of New Brunswick and Gilbert Saillant of Manitoba were sitting outside on their deck and in the dark when two men wearing balaclavas approached them with guns drawn. All three Mounties are on assignment with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti.
One by one, the thieves took the men to their rooms and forced them to hand over keys to their barrack boxes. Speaking French and Creole, the armed men assured their captives that they would not be killed. They stole the Mounties’ service pistols, roughly $5,000 US in cash, a laptop computer and one officer’s wedding ring.
The robbers then bound the men’s hands and feet with rope before taking off with the loot in a car. One of the men reportedly called his companion “Commandant,” which, according to the internal document, could be significant.
“Although not clear-cut evidence that they may have been PNH [Haitian National Police], the term used is consistent with typical jargon within their organization,” it said.
The report notes the previous tenants of the home were also robbed and that the RCMP had requested barbed wire for the property, but the UN inspection needed to approve the purchase never happened.
The RCMP members managed to quickly wriggle free of their restraints and call for help. They have been offered support and counselling.
Inocencio said everyone is thankful all three RCMP members were not physically harmed. He said UN security officials and Haitian police are investigating. So far none of the stolen objects have been recovered.
he most upsetting thing about this has been the irresponsibility of Canada’s media.
They released the names, of those involved, before the next-of-kin were notified.
If you are in a security environment, you should never be away from your gun.
I can remember carrying a weapon, 24 hours per day. During waking hours, it was in my belt holster: At night it was propped in my shoe, next to the bed, loaded with safety off.
This saved my life, on one occasion.
You cannot be safe with your pistol in a footlocker.
Especially embarrassing for a group of Canadian RCMP officers.
Sounds like a friction between the RCMP and PNH in which the PNH made a move.