Booster Shot: Former Lucian Power Monarch Shot by Police

Andrew “Yardie” Haynes was shot on Saturday afternoon on a main Street in Vieux-Fort, St. Lucia. For those of you who don't know, he was a finalist in this year's Groovy and Power Soca Monarch competitions.

I watched him do his thang in Power Soca this year, a prize he's taken home in the past. It's kinda wild when these things happen. Read on. You'll see just how wild...

The artiste claims that police shot him in the upper thigh. He was then forced into the back of a police van where an officer continued to assault him with a foot to the chest. Now, there's speculation as to the appropriateness of the officer's conduct. Naturally, the police version of the story sounds substantially different.

According to Vernon Francois (Assistant Police Commissioner for Crime), Yardie became a person of interest after a woman called to alert them of a trespasser. It is alleged that Yardie threatened to forcibly enter her private home. As the story goes, the soca artist had already fled the area by the time the cops arrived.

Well, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that they eventually caught up with him. From the looks of it a gun made up for any headstart the entertainer might have had. Police allege that Yardie resisted arrest.

It's big talk in St. Lucia, and I'll tell you why. Local rumors are circulating that the woman who placed the call to the police was dating the officer who pulled the trigger. Today she released a statement saying that she does not know the man, and never intended for Yardie to get hurt.



It's worth noting that Lucian police officers are licensed to carry firearms, however, at present the police force does not make use of incapacitators such as pepper spray or tasers. There is a new bill before Senate proposing that this be changed.

Yardie will be alright, but nobody likes a shot to the groin. Check in with me next carnival and we'll see if Yardie's voice has gone up a few octaves. Not funny, right? I know.

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