UPDATE: Cop on gun and assault charges granted $45K bail
The Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) has confirmed that a police officer has been interdicted from duty after being charged with firearm and assault offences and is currently out on police bail.
The officer, 39-year-old Javier Smith of Belle Vue, was granted $45,000 bail and is due to appear at the Magistrate’s Court on October 1.
Smith is charged with Possession of a Firearm with Intent to Put Any Other Person in Fear and Common Assault.
According to a police statement issued on Thursday, August 13, Smith was taken from active duty earlier this year following a domestic-related incident reported on May 27, 2026.
“He was initially arrested for questioning as part of the investigation and subsequently interdicted from duty pending the outcome of the investigation,” the police stated.
The RVIPF did not disclose details of the allegations or the incident that led to the charges.
The Force said, however, that it “remains committed” to maintaining public confidence and will continue to investigate allegations of criminal conduct involving its members without fear or favour.
“Allegations made against members of the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force are taken seriously and will be thoroughly investigated,” Acting Commissioner of Police Richard Ullger said. “Where evidence supports that an offence has been committed, appropriate action will be taken, regardless of the individual’s position within the Force,” he added.
The police announcement came less than a day after BVI News reported that a member of the Force was facing firearm and assault charges.
Previously published article
BVI News understands that a police officer with the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) has been charged with common assault and possession of a firearm with intent to put another person in fear.
The officer, whose identity BVI News is awaiting confirmation of, was charged this week following an alleged personal altercation with another officer during which he reportedly drew his service pistol.
Details surrounding the incident remain unclear, including the circumstances that led to the altercation and whether the firearm was discharged.
BVI News has sought confirmation from the RVIPF’s Police Information Unit but had not received a response up to publication time. Our news centre also contacted Interim Police Commissioner Richard Ullger, who said on Wednesday morning that the RVIPF would issue a statement on the matter today. However, no statement had been issued by publication time.
It is also unclear whether the accused officer has appeared before the Magistrate’s Court for arraignment.
BVI News will provide further details as they become available.
Copyright 2026 BVI News, Media Expressions Limited. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.
And some people think giving guns to business people (with or without children?) is a good idea!
IF this is what the Police do when they get a bit agitated and have a gun, imagine the carnage when a gun toting bar ownner or hairsalon owner will do when they have a customer not pay a bill or say something they don’t like.
Time to get guns out of the VI.
Of course there are no VIslanders that know anyone with a gun or they would have reported it already.
So over to the rest of you to go the police with what you know.
Your sick
its YOU ARE or YOU’RE smh please tell me it was done on purpose. Hurt my heart.
@anonymous His sick what?
A lot of you don’t remember, but what about the man from Sea Cows Bay up the hill that pointed/pull a gun at a policeman a while back. Think back. The man father have a cook shop.
You mix up! You mean the cop pulled a gun on the man. Reports were made which could not be found so nothing came of it.
Robbers have guns 3 times over and no license is stopping them. You want to call police when one of them finally go crazy but how long will it take for police to arrive.
Yow – you all do not know the circumstances it quick to holler out about gun control and personal/business ownership and don’t have facts!
Wait and hear the facts before rushing to judgement and conclusions without facts. Some ayo way too emotionally damaged and quick to post dumb self-serving comments! GTFOH!
Who knows; knows! That’s why mature countries allow their citizens to protect themselves from unsavory denigrates like those walking and smiling around them. Stand you ground pal and let the chips fall where they may….
You know how it goes around here. Everybody will swear their son/brother/cousin/friend is a good Christian boy that wouldn’t harm a fly lol. Police need to blaze some of these clown as far as I’m concerned.
WHERE IS YHE DISCIPLINE RESPECT FOR THE UNIFORM AND WHAT IT REPRESENTS HOPEFULLY WE WILL SEE THE IDIOT’S FACE .
I am glad it’s another officer he pulled on. They do it to young men all the time and when reports are made those receiving the reports do not log them. Set of dirty cops.
and when those same young men get caught up or pull gun on someone else i hope yall dont bother log reports.
then those young gun man rob or shoot you or yah family/friends dont bother call those cops
yall gave the criminals too much power and dont condone their actions. when police come to rough them up yall feel bad for them and wan make noise.
well stay silent for every robbery,shooting or murder then
idiots
So why is he being protected but youall publish other people names once charged. Its your own colleague so he get privileges. That’s it and that’s all
That’s a serious offense and they are still hiding him. The regular Joe would have been arrested and name and face published. We know it’s not Super Cop for sure!
I am A victim as well,, where a Police Officer pulled a Gun on me as well,,, I had witness with me at that time & these Police here(Commissioner as well) don’t give a damn to do their job or bring justice to da British Virgin Islanders,, I ain’t finished fighting for my rights,, just b aware!!!
Some of r u to damb rude and disrespectful that officer should gun butt u I your fing head bring u to your senses real fing talk
That is not responsible gun ownership. He might lose tge privelege now.
This case highlights why expanding firearm access is not necessarily the answer to rising crime. This trained police officer, trusted to handle firearms responsibly, now faces serious firearm-related charges. If these risks exist even among trained professionals, how is widening access to the general public a good idea? It only creates more opportunities for misuse.
We’re already struggling with gun crime and unsolved murders, the focus should be on reducing gun violence, not increasing the number of firearms in circulation. The real solution should be in better policing, stronger investigations, tougher action against illegal guns, and ensuring criminals are brought to justice. More guns do not automatically create more safety. What deters crime is certainty of detection, arrest, and conviction, not simply putting more firearms into more hands.
“More guns do not automatically create more safety.” Similarly, more guns do not automatically create more unsafe conditions. It’s about who owns them. This person was clearly not fit to be armed police.
The argument against law abiding citizens having guns is the equivalent (and equally stupid to) banning cars because some people will speed and drive while intoxicated.
In the US, three decisions by the Supreme Court (McDonald, Heller, and Bruen) established that the Constitution’s Second Amendment embodied an individual right to possess and carry firearms for personal defense – by LAW ABIDING CITIZENS. The Left went crazy, predicting the return to the “Wild West” and all manner of carnage.
What actually happened? Gun crime and gun violence did not increase, because LAW ABIDING CITIZENS who own guns are not and never have been the problem.
Every time someone asks why gun crime is increasing, we immediately look at policing, legislation or the courts. Those matter—but very few people are willing to ask whether our culture itself is helping to create the problem.
Every Festival it’s the same cycle: fights, gun violence, reckless driving and disorder. Then, when it’s over, everyone posts “Stop the violence” and “Put the guns down.” If this keeps happening year after year, maybe it’s time to stop pretending these are isolated incidents and start questioning the environment we’ve normalized.
Festival should be about celebrating our heritage, not becoming a magnet for hotheads, gang associates and people carrying illegal firearms. Most people attend simply to enjoy themselves, but it’s impossible to ignore that many offenders also gravitate to these events because large crowds provide opportunities for retaliation, intimidation and criminal activity.
The influence on our young people should concern every one of us. Between social media, peer pressure and some local and international music that glorifies guns, gangs, drugs, fast money and violence, many youths grow up believing that lifestyle deserves admiration. Music doesn’t create criminals by itself, but it can influence attitudes, reinforce behaviour and shape what young people see as normal when those messages are constantly celebrated.
Adults also have to accept responsibility. Young people are not importing firearms into the Territory on their own. Adults are smuggling them, selling them and profiting from supplying drugs and guns to impressionable youths. Criminals don’t recruit themselves.
We also have a culture where too many people refuse to cooperate with police, even when they know who committed serious crimes. We criticize the police when crimes go unsolved, yet in the same breath protect offenders through silence. We can’t expect law enforcement to solve every case if communities refuse to help.
At the same time, we’ve become comfortable normalizing behaviour that previous generations would have challenged. Underage drinking, drug use, gang signs, gun signs, ski masks, reckless behaviour and glorifying the “badman” image are often dismissed as entertainment or “just the culture.” When schools raise concerns about weapons or drugs, they’re sometimes met with outrage instead of support. That should concern all of us.
Then we celebrate people who become wealthy through crime or corruption, defend criminal lifestyles online, and wonder why some young people think that’s the path to success. Young people pay far more attention to what adults celebrate than to what adults preach.
None of this means every Festival-goer, every music fan or every young person is involved in crime. Most are not. But we should stop pretending culture has no influence. It absolutely does.
If we truly want fewer guns on our streets, we need to stop glorifying the lifestyle that so often surrounds them. We need to celebrate integrity over intimidation, discipline over recklessness and responsibility over criminality.
Because if we continue to normalize violence, excuse criminal behaviour and reward those who profit from it, we shouldn’t be surprised when the next generation follows the same path.
Culture doesn’t excuse crime—but culture can either discourage it or help normalize it.
Which culture are we building?
Some of the police “Lollice” and a lot in the community “Lollice” what do we got? Go figure.
A bird that flies too high without knowing the land beneath its wings is destined for a hard descent.
If yah can’t take card don’t play the gamee
100 thousand bail for woman selling weed. 45 thousand bail for a police who pulled a gun on a police. f up