ST. CROIX — The Virgin Islands Police Department will host a press conference at 2:30 p.m. today where Commissioner Trevor Velinor will provide information on a recent operation dubbed “Cool Out” that resulted in 9 arrests, V.I.P.D. Public Information Officer Glen Dratte has announced. The commissioner will also provide updates on recent initiatives that saw guns being taken off the streets.
The Consortium learned Saturday that a special operations officer was grazed by a bullet during a recent initiative. It was not clear as to whether the incident occurred during the Cool Out operation, and Mr. Dratte has not provided details. According to a person with knowledge of the occurrence, it is believed that the special operations officer was kept safe by protective headgear. The Consortium will seek more information relative to this incident at the press conference.
The press conference, which the Consortium intends on carrying live, will take place at the police force’s Administrative Building in Mars Hill, Frederiksted in the commissioner’s conference room on the 3rd Floor.
According to Mr. Dratte, joining Mr. Velinor will be Deputy Commissioner of Operations Celvin Walwyn, St. Croix Police Chief William Harvey, Chief Detective Lt. Naomi Joseph and representatives from the Attorney General’s Office.
During a recent interview with the Consortium, Mr. Velinor said his plan to fight crime includes creating a list of the territory’s most violent offenders and targeting those individuals with VIPD intelligence along with information provided by the community.
He has also ordered that tints be removed from most police vehicles. “If you are a police officer, people got to see you,” Mr. Velinor said during the interview. The idea is to foster a better relationship between community members and the police force, an effort which, if realized, Mr. Velinor said could produce lasting results in the force’s effort to gain public trust which could in turn result in more effective leads.
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