One Haitian police officer killed off duty, three others injured in anti-gang operation

PORT-AU-PRINCE — The Haitian National Police (PNH) is mourning the assassination of Officer Nathanielle Médjine Michel, which occurred in Port-au-Prince Wednesday. This tragic loss adds to the growing list of Haitian police officers killed by gunfire this year. Attacks on law enforcement continue as authorities promise action against gangs expanding their control over new territories daily.

This incident is part of a broader pattern of violence affecting the PNH, which is under-resourced and struggling to manage the escalating gang violence in the country.

The Haitian National Police Union (SYNAPOHA) confirmed Michel‘s murder in a post on X. The organization reported that the officer — assigned to the Delmas 75 police station — was killed while on her way to work.

The union’s crime scene report noted 13 bullet impacts on the windows of the police officer’s car. Michel was part of the 28th cohort of the Haitian police.

In a separate incident on Tuesday, the PNH also registered three injuries in its ranks. The law enforcement institution’s high command confirmed that three officers, part of the SWAT unit, were injured by gunfire during an anti-gang operation in the Bel-Air and Solino areas—near the center of Port-au-Prince.  

In a message posted on X, the police institution stated that the three officers were in stable condition and that they were receiving necessary medical care for their injuries.

Despite changes within the Haitian National Police, the institution continues to face significant challenges, with 22 officers assassinated in 2024 alone. This troubling statistic highlights the escalating security crisis in the country, where gang violence remains rampant.

 “I encourage the command to continue moving forward. I thank the police officers on behalf of the population for their sacrifice and assure them that the government will not abandon them or back down.”

Garry Conille,  Prime Minister of Haiti

The Haitian police force has been under immense pressure, with ongoing attacks from gangs that have expanded their control over large portions of Port-au-Prince and other areas. Efforts to bolster the police force, including international support and deploying 400 Kenyan police officers, have yet to yield significant security improvements.

As part of the investigation into Michel’s assassination, police have arrested the victim’s sister, Nathalie Michel, and her brother-in-law, police officer Jean Andersen Cantave, assigned to the Departmental Unit for Maintenance of Order (UDMO). According to the PNH, these individuals are suspected of having a connection with the crime. A family conflict is believed to be the motive behind the killing of the police officer.

Last week, another PNH officer, James Dorsainvil, was killed in the Solino neighborhood during an attack by the Bel-Air gangs led by Kempès Sanon. These gangs are determined to control this strategic area to expand their influence over neighborhoods such as Nazon, Carrefour Aéroport, Christ-Roi, Lalue, Poupelard, and Delmas 24.

With these two murders, the total number of police officers killed in Haiti on or off duty in recent months continues to rise. From June 2023 to June 2024, a total of 36 police officers were murdered, according to the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH).

No assessment yet on joint PNH-MSS targeted operation

Following the delivery of new armored vehicles and equipment to the PNH and the Kenya-led Multinational Support and Security (MSS) mission, a joint operation involving Haitian and Kenyan officers was launched in Bel-Air and Solino. Besides the limited information about the three injured police officers, no details have been released regarding the number of casualties on the gang side, if any, or the quantity of items, such as weapons and ammunition, seized.

In a statement on its site, the multinational force said Tuesday that the joint operation was carefully planned. The officials assured that “this operation is only the beginning,” [and] “gangs should not expect pressure to ease unless they lay down their weapons.” 

“As this was the first large-scale targeted operation, residents were informed of the interventions, and the gangsters who tried to resist fled through the narrow streets,” the MSS said without indicating whether or not any of the bandits were captured or killed. 

Haitian and Kenyan officials promised that subsequent security operations would be conducted and maintained. “The Haitian government is committed to deploying all its resources to support joint operations,” read the MSS statement. “The Prime Minister, the director general of the PNH, and the commander of the MSS force, while closely monitoring ongoing operations, reiterated their commitment to ensuring the return of peace and normality to Haiti.”

Prime Minister Garry Conille—who visited the three injured SWAT officers—was at the police emergency operation center on Tuesday. During an exchange with the DG of the PNH, Rameau Normil, the acting commander of the Armed Forces of Haiti (FADH), Derby Guerrier, and the head of the MSS, Godfrey Otunge, Conille discussed the results and evaluated the operations on the ground, particularly those in Bel-Air.

“I encourage the command to continue moving forward,” the prime minister said on his X  account. “I thank the police officers on behalf of the population for their sacrifice and assure them that the government will not abandon them or back down.”

Protests against gang violence

While authorities renew promises to reclaim gang-controlled territories, the situation remains dire for residents of Fond-Parisien and Ganthier, near the Malpasse border with the Dominican Republic. Sidestepping the PNH and Kenyan forces, the 400 Mawozo gang continues to terrorize these areas. Bandits from this group recently attacked police facilities—burning substations and armored vehicles— and seized control of Ganthier’s customs building.

The situation is similar in parts of the Artibonite region, particularly in Gros-Morne. The Kokorat San Ras and Gran Grif gangs continue their reign of terror on communities there in the absence of effective law enforcement.

The latest attack in rural Gros-Morne by Kokorat San Ras over the past weekend resulted in 10 deaths, numerous homes and farms burned, and families fleeing for safety. That was the second bloodbath perpetrated by this gang in the region in just about two months.

In mid-June, another attack in two rural Terre-Neuve and Gros-Morne localities left 10 dead and at least 20 houses burned.

Fed up with the violence, hundreds of residents took to the streets on Wednesday to demand an end to the attacks on Ganthier, as reported by the local press. Dressed primarily in white T-shirts and holding placards with various slogans in Creole, the demonstrators called on the Haitian state to combat the banditry devastating their once-peaceful communities.

A similar situation unfolded in the Artibonite department on Wednesday. Several residents in Gonaïves protested again, demanding an end to the gang violence terrorizing the area. Residents face attacks from the Kokorat San Ras and Gran Grif gangs in their neighborhoods and on the roads.

The control over Ganthier followed several attacks by the Grande Ravine and Fontamara gangs on Carrefour and Gressier, two communes in southwest Port-au-Prince. These gangs destroyed police stations, looted, burned public and private properties, and committed acts of murder, kidnapping, and forced displacements of people.

A recent RNDDH report reveals that at least 66 people, including police officers, were killed or went missing during the first two quarters of 2024 in these two municipalities.

“State interventions in the region remain insignificant compared to the terror imposed by armed gangs,” the RNDDH said. “From January to July 2024, the security situation in Carrefour and Gressier completely degenerated, marked by armed bandits in the streets, markets, sports clubs, and bus stations.”

The post One Haitian police officer killed off duty, three others injured in anti-gang operation appeared first on The Haitian Times.

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One Haitian police officer killed off duty, three others injured in anti-gang operation was first posted on August 30, 2024 at 10:15 am.