V.I. Police Department Commissioner Ray Martinez was under investigation for an officer-involved shooting without injuries, the V.I. Police Department reported Tuesday.
The incident occurred at Hull Bay on March 5, which ultimately led to the arrest of Mohammed Salem, 34, according to the police report.
Salem is accused of stabbing and killing his father, Hakem Salem, 69, on March 5 at their Estate Lerkenlund home before fleeing the area, which led to a manhunt. He was eventually captured in the water off Tropaco Point in Hull Bay.
Per the V.I. Police Department’s policies, the commissioner was placed on administrative leave with pay from March 5-8 and, after being cleared by a department psychologist, returned to work on March 9. The department also reached out to Effective Law Enforcement for All (ELEFA) to conduct an independent review of the incident. This was to ensure that an independent review was done and to take the investigation and findings out of the hands of the VIPD, the police report stated.
Effective Law Enforcement for All is a nonprofit organization that relies on a multi-disciplinary team of former police chiefs, senior law enforcement officials, and policing subject-matter experts to promote understanding, transparency, and trust between police agencies and the public. ELEFA’s experts have assisted New Orleans, Montgomery County, Maryland, and Orlando, Florida, and have been selected to oversee the implementation of a consent decree concerning the Minneapolis Police Department, the report stated.
It is the policy of the V.I. Police Department not to disclose the names of individuals involved in officer-involved shootings. However, due to the nature of this incident and the fact that it involves Police Commissioner Martinez, the department believes it is necessary to divulge this information to promote an independent and transparent investigation based on his position, according to the report.
ELEFA will conduct an independent review and provide the Office of the Governor and the
police department with their findings at the conclusion of the investigation, it said.
