Commissiong: ‘Cannot Afford To Be Complacent’
Last night’s shooting at Rambling Lane is a “sobering reminder that we as a community cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to violence of this nature,” said Rolfe Commissiong.
Mr Commissiong is the PLP candidate for Pembroke South East, the area where the shooting took place.
At approximately 10.20pm last night [May 22] a 51-year-old man was shot multiple times in the Rambling Lane area of Pembroke. He is presently listed in stable condition in the Intensive Care Unit.
Mr Commissiong said: “It is my hope that the victim will recover swiftly and my prayers go out to him and his family. It is also my hope that the individual or individuals responsible for this act are quickly apprehended.
“It is one thing to hear about these incidents but it really hits home when one knows the victim as I do and when one realizes that the victim’s family and other innocent residents were at risk as well.
“The people who live on Rambling Lane and the surrounding areas are good hardworking people and they deserve to have safe clean neighbourhoods free of fear.
“To those that are responsible for this criminal behavior, I ask that they realize that it is never too late to change their anti-social and ultimately destructive behavior and become more productive citizens of our island,” concluded Mr Commissiong.
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Well said Rolfe!
Good for you Rolfe. I was reading all the BS below. Just to think I was actual going to vote along side with the OBA and it’s clowns.
BANG BANG BANG- the most extreme violence within our society, year after year.
What do we hear from supposed leaders?
Platitudes.
ACTION? – little to none from the legislators
At least the police and prosecutions are hard at it
Our Government should have brought the hammer down on this mayhem 4 years or more ago
Do you remember them coming on TV or in newspapers reassuring the public that they will come down hard on the perpetrators? they will increase penalties and make jail time, hard time?
I get more reassurances from Obama that we will live through these times.
Our deterrent is 3 meals a day, hang with your mates, work out, watch tv, do your drug of choice, visits to the dentist and get out in one third of your sentence.
You’re all paying for it, twice.
Unfortunatly shootings have become a “nine day wonder” because that seems to be the course of time after which we forget. The quest of our leaders now are about rounding up votes. In the mean time everyday man/woman are wondering when will things pick-up economy wise. The police apply pressure for a few days after each shooting then go right back to heads buried in blackberrys. Of course the crinimal element knows all this thats why they go about creating mayhem with no regards for anyone, not even themselves.
Winnie, that’s not exactly fair. We have seen a drastic reduction in shootings in the last year and definitely in fatalities. Of course 1 is 1 too many however credit must be given to the Police Service, Govt, Judiciary, and the community in general for working together. Sadly no matter what everyone may want, no amount of legislation or police presence will be able to stop every single crime from occurring. So we have to give credit where it is due and then continue to try and develop the lives of these people as they mature.
In addition I thought Mr Commissiong’s statement was timely. While he recognized the victim and sent a message to him, he also extended a branch to those who committed the act to turn their lives around while they have the opportunity and to become productive citizens of Bermuda.
I was very pleased to read this statement. Mr Commissiong gets a tough ride sometimes, but his statement on this hit the nail on the head.
Nail in the coffin, thank you.
I think the the nail needs to friggen hit him on the head !! to think this guy might be a member of parliament !!!!makes me puke, and Paula is happy for him to be a part of her team also makes me sick …
this women needs some serious help……..
Pepper someone needs to hit you over your head for knocking a man down when he has served his time. Don’t see you and your kind knocking Shawn Crockwell who was stealing drugs from the Court and placing them back on the street for the boys in the Hood to sell. So are you trying to say the same goes for the OBA’s prime candidate?
Neither or them should be in parliament.
we havent seen much shooting in the last year because most are dead and the rest up westgate or in the UK.
Damn the police.
Call the …..they fix it.
Censorship.
This is coming from someone who ___________________ ? Would have been nice if he had thought of that years ago when HE terrified people….(one of whom was MY family member!)
Of course. The PLP spokesman for violent gun crimes is someone with direct first-hand experience. Ironic.
tricks,I often wonder what the victims of the bank robbery had to endure and how are they dealing with the thought of Rolf running as a candidate for the P.L.P.
What the hell has Bermuda come to !!!! what this man done to those poor workers is unforgivable !!!!!! and now we have Ewart looking to make a come back !!!!!!God help this Isle of devils….
If we are really serious, does this mean that one can never atone or be forgiven for their indiscretions?
When has he ever expressed remorse?
Rolfe, I’m glad you saw the light and turned your life around. Just think if you had been doing the same sh!t today you might not have been so lucky. Bless you.
Give a man a gun and he can rob a bank. Give a man a seat in parliament and he can rob a whole country.
If I were in Mr. Commissiong position I would have said “To those who are responsible for this criminal behavior, I ask that you realize that it is never too late to change your anti-social and ultimately destructive behavior and become more productive citizens of our island as I have become”.
But your not LaVerne. You can be a pain in the a$s but I agree with your comment.
Laverne, do you not care about the terror that Ralph has caused? just think if you were in that Bank, just think what you would do. Are you mad? This guy has caused terror to people that probably are having nightmares…..do you not care about these people and only put the fact that he, Ralph, was a young black man, that had visions of grandeur who was jealous of other peoples wealth and ACTED on it!
This kinda stuff is not made up, it is written in the Bible that, yes you can be forgiven……but importunately for you and Ralph, l have never heard ONE second of remorse for anyone except black slaves 400 f^^^king years ago,
Let it go or the OBA will loss the next election. The brother has did his time!
The Oba will lose, trust me. Rolfes statement is on point, yet the nasty comments persist! As usual, you people don’t get it, because you do not want to get it! You Oba fans and leaders have no desire to connect with the people that you so desperatly want votes from, and your comments reveal this pathological anti human, anti unity, anti harmony mindset! For all the self-proclaimed brilliance within the Oba, 2 things stand out, your mindset has not changed with your rebranding, as you clearly do not learn from previous experiences, and, as a consequence, you remain clueless as to how to connect with the very people you all need! Rolfes statement reveals real understanding, connection, and care, based on the wisdom of life’s experiences. So continue to be obvious hypocrites, as the people can see the distinction between you wolves in wolfs clothing Oba/ubp, and the PLP…..a party that at the very least, can RELATE to the people……you all are doing Jeff baron no favours…..
Concerned? Really?
It’s not necessarily the OBA needing to be held responsible for individual’s comments,
many of whom are PLP or undecided.
To suggest a party ‘desperately’ needs votes from you ignores the fact that YOU need the OBA! They are simply a collection of thinking people who wish to save this community from going any further down the hole.
When a party ‘desperately’ needs your vote, it implies they want the power for their own ends, their own enrichment (sound familiar?)
There was a time when Members of the Parliament came to public service as succesfull
businessmen and women, so we didn’t have to worry they would be there for the money. Actually 20 years ago it was easier to make money in the private sector!
NOT NOW! After $1,400,000,000 spending and getting spree you are about to see
mass unemployment and massive outgoing of capital when your dream of another PLP government comes to fruition.
As I said before,I’m not shouting fire in a crowded theatre – I’m shouting fire in a burning theatre.
l dont care what you think, connect witht he people, ya another billion in debt, whats more important, letting whitey get in to fix the mess PLP has caused, or having Two billion to pay back?you people are plum stupid if you vote PLP, or paid off one of the two, v
i AGREE THEY ARE VERY DUM IF THEY VOTE PLP..WHEN UBP OR IF U WANA SAY THEY WHITES WHERE IN POWER THEY FOR THE MOST PART ALLOWED THE BLACKS TO EAT!!!! AND THEY HAD THEIR OWN MONETY NO NEED TO OUT RIGHT TAKE THE PEOPLES!!!
In the US if you are so much as dishonorably discharged from the army, something you volunteer for, you would be lucky to even flip burgers for a living. However in Bermuda you can rob a bank, do a third of your sentence and go on to rob the country, and I’m sorry but rolf is the worst of them all, and you dare talk about unity.
Seems a few people have beat me to it. Of course Laverne is forgiving of a PLP member for their criminal behavior…not so forgiving to others who have done much less than shoot up and rob a bank. But I digress.
not to mention Ralphy Boy just told guys that just tried to KILL another human being that….” ya man, you can still turn your lives around aceboys”!!!!
I cant believe some of you are actually comparing the crime that Shaun committed to Rolfes. It is vastly different. If you cant see that, then I really feel sorry for you.
They see it, but you know something, if we took time to research the economic history of the Oba/ubp support base(especially the inherited wealth), it shouldn’t be surprising to learn that the same product that Shawn crockwell distributed in the community is the same product that…………oh I forgot, silly me……that is not criminal/immoral activity, it’s sophisticated business, or as gibbons and Richards says, International Business…….moral of the story, don’t throw stones in glass houses……….thus endeth today’s lesson…….
Nobody is saying what he did is okay by ANY means. It’s just that there is no comparison to the two crimes. Apples to oranges. Severely Violent versus non violent.
Hope these incidents do not take place any more. People need peaceful environment and every one should try one’s best to protect our people’s happy life.
to everybody who have a problem with people turning their lives around and becoming productive members of society; you are acting like your feces don’t stink
I think the problem some have is this.
Why should we congratulate anybody for finally doing the right thing
when 90% of everyone else works so hard to NEVER, RAPE ROB,SHOOT STEAL, ASSAULT AND generally terrorize others?
Those who stay so far OUT of this kind of deviant behavior should get medals, be knighted and given sainthoods by your standards.
I myself find no problem forgiving those who genuinely crave a second chance, but I will never forget the deviousness of your initial crime if it is a crime of direct violence against another person.
There is a huge difference between that and a victimless crime.
Wow,this Rolf guy would still be in prison making licence plates in most countries.Here, he is running for a post in the government of the land?
Must be a huge shortage of honest people.
While I commend Mr. Commissiong and Mr. Crockwell for turning their lives around and their desire to serve their country, I honestly believe that there are certain behaviours that preclude one from the honour of being considered as an elected official. A stronger message would be sent if Commissiong and Crockwell were warning individuals that criminal activity will exclude them from certain levels of service.
I too know the longterm effects on victims of crime of this nature and have regrettably seen firsthand how persons that were held at gunpoint by Mr. Commissiong have struggled over the years with the trauma of the memory. We have all seen the effects of drug addiction and the scourge of the drug trade in our community and close friends or family members whose lives have been destroyed. Only in Bermuda would we have to deal with the possibility of the perpertrators of crimes of this nature one day becoming the Premier. A law needs to be made to change this… This would serve as a deterrent to potential offenders here in Bermuda as it does in other parts of the world.
Freak the OBA! They don’t care us! I did time but now I have turned my life around, so I guess my vote and every man & woman that’s come out of prison does not deserve a second chance under them? Every man & woman who has been in prison, yes me messed up, but is this really the government who we want to vote for?
The OBA and their supporters don’t even respect us, as far as their concerned people like us are the scum of the Earth.
Thanks for showing me your true colors OBA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I take this personally!!!!!!!!!!
Your a f$#$ idiot, nowhere down the bottom of this page does it say spew your political alegance. It says speak your mind you simple minded racist pric. I don’t like him running where he is after what he did and thats my personal view, I have no party I support, they all work for f$%$#me! Also I don’t think anyone gives a damn about your comment since your grammar shows your intelligence…or lack there of. Turned your life around? Cool now you can go apply for a job at ice queen, not parliment. Bad choices are supposed to have consequences…apparently not on this island.
@ Come correct.
You sound like a man who’s been sexually violated by one of these prisoners while you served time. What Former Prisoner made you dress up as a woman while you was in Case Mates or West Gate with him? I can see by all the F$%$# and ect you had first hand experience. Is your daddy a former prisoner? LOLOL
You sound like a man who knows the sound of a sexually violated man…violated anyone recently? Not that I even see any sense in your reply to my comment, but how wrong you are. If we referre back to the article on virtual colonoscopies I believe there’s one comment…mine… Basically stateing I’d let colon cancer kill me before I’d let a camera enter my rectum so what chance do you stand? Also I’ve never been to prison, I’ve been no angel, but I’m not that stupid, but since you obviously were offended by my comment have you? My father also hasn’t been to prison and probably the main reason in my life that I haven’t, he’s a law abiding citizen and a humble man of integrity, how about yours?
You all are sick. You want the shooting to stop, but you want the shooters to pay for their sins forever without any hope of remorse or reconcilliation.
Rolfe is an example of someone who made a different life choice after committing a heinous crime. Beat him down, if you like, but please don’t be surprised if the very people you need to put down the guns see how you treat someone who did and then resolve that community won’t accept them if they do so why bother.
Grow up people. Your hate is blinding you to the fact that there are few messengers better than rolfe to deliver the message of turning your life around. You may disagree with his politics, but this is a democracy. Don’t tear him down because he made a mistake and changed his life.
Letting a prson out of prison once time is served is enough. We don’t have to bow and scrape for armed bank robbers and we don’t have to pretend its a good idea to vote for them. If someone wants to pick someone like this to be a political candidate, more fool them. I guess they’ll vote for absolutely anyone.
People wonder why we have such a high number of recidivism in Bermuda. What is the point of a person who committed a crime to change their life and become a productive member of society if society will forever hold it against him and deny them of opportunity?
I don’t believe that anyone will deny persons the chance to become productive members of society, but one of the consequences for crimes of this sort needs to be exclusion from running for public office. This is how it is done in other parts of the world and it serves as a deterrent to potential offenders. There are some things you should never be able to do when you make the choice to commit certain offences. The victims have to live with the effects for the remainder of their lives and there is nothing wrong with the perpertrators living with their choices!
He robbed a bank using a gun. He terrorised people. He is a violent man. I’m not concerned about hurting his feelings or letting him express his views. He is the scum of the earth. He brought it on himself when he decided to be a violent thug. I can’t stand him.
How’s that. Clear enough?
From what I’ve seen, Rolfe’s message is one of hate, not reconciliation or remorse. He still has a huge chip on his shoulder, IMO… just like LaVerne and Ewart have. And quite a few others in positions of power under the plp.
From what I have seen you and Shawn Crockwell are boys.
And apples and oranges are the same fruit.
First of all, well said Mr. Commissiong. I agree 100% with your comments.
Secondly, the idiotic negative comments come from some of the many ignorant people on both sides of the political spectrum. From what I can see these comments have nothing whatever to do with the OBA so to blame the OBA for them is ludicrous. Both political parties include someone in their party who has committed a criminal act in the past, but these are in the past, and they have paid for this misdeeds. Continuing to throw insults at them serves no useful purpose, but it sends a message to our young people that there are some folks around who will never learn to forgive and move on.
Only in Bermuda.smh.. I still don’t get it. How can “convicted” felons be allowed to be voted into Parliament? Yes, I understand that nobody is perfect and we all make mistakes. And most oftentimes these individuals turn their lives around, yada yada, but I don’t agree with it. The fact that these “criminals” are given positions of trust, is beyond me.. Poor Bermuda. What crime does a person have to commit to be not allowed to run and be voted in?
@Common Sense: So are you condoning the fact that we have “ex-cons” within our government? I agree that, yes, these gentlemen committed crimes and yes, they served their time(that’s all well and good),and maybe we as a society should be more forgiving but unfortunately, what they did will never be forgotten, that’s to be expected, but I believe that a line should be drawn when they are allowed to become an integral part of the government.
I can’t believe in Bermuda that convicted felons involving gun violence can ever hold a government office. That is simply disgusting and third world politics.
It stands to reason that if a person does not approve of a candidate or the party they represent, the simple solution is not to vote for either. And if you’re not in a position to vote, you’re free to vent – if you think that will help or solve anything.