INTRODUCTION
In June 1979, 23 year old Anthony Asquith Pierre, from Dominica, arrived in Bermuda to join the Bermuda Police Service having been recruited in the West Indies, along with Ronald Greenidge, Devonish Small, Rudy Richardson, Sylvester Augustine and Elton Jack.
These six young men attended Basic Training Course # 25 held from June – September 1979, after which Anthony was posted briefly to Central Division (Hamilton), and then to Eastern Division (St. George’s). In 1985 he was appointed as Parish Constable in St. George’s for several years until his transfer to “B” Department (Finance) in 1987, where he was promoted to Sergeant.
Anthony married his lovely wife, Donna Gay (nee Durham) in 1986, and in October 1990, after serving in the BPS for 11 years, Anthony resigned, and he and his wife went to the United States where they settled in Philadelphia, and had a baby daughter Kenya Juliana.
Anthony attended Widener University Law School, and after university he sat his State Bar exams, and was working as the Manager of a convenience store where he was tragically murdered during an armed hold-up at the store, details of which are recored below in the article written by John Skinner.
Since our Bermuda Ex-Police Officer's website was first created in 2011, we have attempted to keep a record of all of our former police officers who have passed, but as Anthony's death occcurred prior to the creation of our website and our List of Deceased Police Officers, he was inadvertently not included on the list. This has now been corrected and you can CLICK HERE to view the list.
During the past two years our good friend retired Inspector John Skinner has been compiling an extensive list of the names of all those police officers who had served in the Bermuda Police for the 100 years between 1879 and 1979. CLICK HERE to view John's "100 year list".
John has also been researching and writing articles on "Bermuda's Brave Blue Line" about Bermuda police officers who had served in the Armed Forces during the First World War and the Second World War, and it was while recently conducting further research that John discovered the tragic story of how Anthony was brutally shot and killed in Philadelphia in December 1993, just 3 years after he left the BPS.
The tragic details of Anthony's death were reported in the Royal Gazette at that time and his passing was recorded in the House of Assembly as described below.
Since we first published our website we have created our BPS "Hall of Fame" in which we feature police officers who are no longer with us. Some of these articles are written by the respective families of the deceased officers, and some are written by our Ex-Po team, and we thought it woud be most appropriate and fitting to include this article about Anthony in our "Hall of Fame."
At this point we only have brief details of the life of Anthony and his time in Bermuda and the Bermuda Police Service, and we are appealling to those who knew him to please write to us with your own recollections of Anthony as a tribute to him.
The BPS no doubt offered sincere condolences to his family at the time of Anthony's untimely passing, but we would like to add the hope that Anthony's wife, Donna, has been able to move forward with her own life, together with their daughter Kemnya after this senseless tragedy. If you would like to add a tribute you can do so either in the Comments section below this article, or by sending it to us at info@expobermuda.com
Final Destination
By Dr. Shangri-La Durham-Thompson
God knew we’d all be here today as part of His great plan
We’re here today to view Anthony’s life, through examples we understand
And God understands our weeping hearts, the grief that we all share
Our sobs at night and through the day, when no one else is there
Yes, we assemble here today to whisper our goodbyes
To this man who touched our hearts … whose spirit touched lives
Loaned only for a little while, God’s bidding here to do
And now it’s done … Why question God … He’s in control … He knew
Destroyed, this evil world will be
The Battle will be won
But, now it’s time to offer thanks for all that God has done.
We thank you, Lord, for Anthony, who worked and gave his best.
He left his home to come to us and spur his family to success.
He taught us how to live each day … He studied to achieve
He never forgot from whence he came … That was this man’s creed.
Dominica, Bermuda, America … to achieve his purpose, he was there
Expectations for the bar in London, then Philadelphia … beware
For he endeavoured to do all he could to make the world a better place
And if his life was incomplete, it was certainly no disgrace
Like God, he cared for others, his daughter and his wife
Parents, nephews, cousins, fellow man speak well of this man’s life.
So, right now he walks the streets of gold … his final destination
And he smiles and says, ‘I’ll miss you, friends, but heaven is compensation
Donna, you know I’ll miss you, and my little Kenya too
But if you all will serve for God, I’ll be waiting here for you
Friends read John 14:27 & 28 … I know how much you care
And Donna, I know I won this time, because I beat her here!
In researching facts for Bermuda’s Brave Blue Line I suddenly came across this story. I knew Anthony Pierre. I never worked with him but I found him to be a quiet and pleasant man. I was shocked to read this story as for some reason I was not aware of his passing. Maybe I had been travelling at the time.
There is no mention of his passing on the Bermuda Ex-Police Officers Association website. His death occurred a number of years before the XBPOA website was created. I decided to remedy that omission.
Anthony Asquith Pierre was born in Dominica on 16th March 1956. He joined the Bermuda Police Force on 6th June 1979. He resigned with the rank of Sergeant on 29th October 1990
He was murdered on 6th December 1993 in Philadelphia, USA.
The circumstances of his passing prompted me to research his death more closely. The article I had originally found related to the House of Assembly sending condolences to his family.
I searched the Royal Gazette on-line and found the stories but the dates were unreliable, so I have not put publication dates to the Royal Gazette stories in connection with this tragedy. Also there were gaps in the text at the start of the stories. In places I have added text for clarity.
That Royal Gazette article I had found stated:
Condolences were sent by members of the House of Assembly to the family of former Policeman Mr. Anthony Pierre who was shot dead by a robber in Philadelphia last week. Progressive Labour Party MP Mr. Trevor Woolridge began by asking the House to send condolences to Mr. Pierre's widow, Dr, Donna Durham Pierre.
Rev. Woolridge said the 37-year old's tragic death was “shocking” and he would be missed by his family and the community. Delegated and Legislative Affairs Minister the Hon. Ann Cartwright DeCouto asked to be associated with Rev. Woolridge's remarks. “He was so brutally slain," she said. "And one can only hope that the perpetrator of this hideous crime will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law."
Hamilton West MP Mr. Wayne Furbert said Mr. Pierre‘s death was a tragic loss for his family and the people of Hamilton West.
His sentiments were echoed by St. George's North MP Mr, Leon (Jimmy) Williams (PLP)."I knew Anthony and the service he gave in the town of St. George's.” Mr. Williams said, returning to the fact that the former Police sergeant, from Dominica, served on the local force for more than 10 years before going to the US. "It makes me very emotional to think this person who gave so much to the community was removed so senselessly."
Hamilton East MP Ms Renee Webb also asked to be associated with remarks about Mr. Pierre. And she asked that condolences be sent to his widow who is her cousin. Hamilton West MP the Hon. Maxwell Burgess, who is also a cousin of Mr. Pierre’s widow, said: "l do believe we owe a great debt of gratitude to this man who served here."
Another Royal Gazette article gives more details:
Anthony Pierre was killed by a shotgun for less than $150, a court heard yesterday. He was killed last month after a robber burst into the Philadelphia convenience store where he worked. The ex-Policeman was living in the United States with his Bermudian wife, Dr. Donna Pierre, and their young daughter. He was studying law.
Aged 37, he became one of 500 annual homicide victims in the "city of brotherly love". Yesterday a preliminary hearing in Philadelphia was told Mr. Pierre died from a gunshot wound to his neck.
Judge Earl Simmons ordered city resident Amir Cartair, 24, to stand trial for the murder. He could face the death penalty.
His former girlfriend, Michelle Heller, told the court she was working at the Dollar Value store when Cartair walked in with a shotgun.
” He told Anthony, the manager of the store, to get down. Anthony was asking ‘Why? What for? What do you want?’ Then I heard a gunshot. Just one."
Cartair told her: "Bitch, get up and open the cash register." She told the court. “I gave him the paper money and he asked me for the rest." The cash was "no more than $150".
Heller added that about nine hours later Cartair showed up at her home, high on drugs. He said he didn't mean to do it. He said if I ever told anything he'd kill me. Heller, 21, admitted driving Cartair to pick up drugs the Saturday before the Monday murder, and afterwards. But she did not ask him to come to the store the day of the killing, she said.
Shop customer Katherine Ridley told the court she heard a yell of "Oh God. No." from Heller, and then a "pop" from the shotgun. She was unable to identity the accused.
Cartair told Police the shooting was an accident, "I didn't mean to shoot him," he said. "I didn't know the gun was loaded. “I heard a lady scream; I turned to look where the scream was and dropped the gun. It went off.” He said he did not speak to Heller, but believed she put the cash on the counter after seeing the gun.
” The money was on the counter. I grabbed at it, but I did not went get any," He threw the gun in a field somewhere, he said. He added he did not know Mr. Pierre.
After the hearing, Cartair‘s lawyer Ms Teresa Deni said she felt he had been high on drugs. “It’s my understanding he was extremely high for at least a week before he allegedly became involved in this. So I find it difficult to believe that he was not under the influence of any drugs or alcohol at the time he gave the statement, or at the time of the incident,"
But prosecutor Mr, David Desiderio said Ms Deni was making the claim, without evidence, so she could later try to reduce the degree of the murder. "Mr. Pierre was a decent, honest, hard-working individual, who came to this country to make a better life for himself, and had it cut short by a person who, in a desperate act, comes into the store and blows him away. It’s devastating. It’s a horrible, horrible case. It’s as bad as it gets. He went in there with a shotgun and he intended to use it. This tells you he was not high, He was very proficient with the weapon. It was a callous, pre-meditated murder."
Cartair was held without bail after Mr. Desiderio said he planned to seek the death penalty if the defendant was convicted of first degree murder. He was not asked to plead guilty or innocent. It may be six months or a year before the trial is held. Mr. Pierre was from Dominica. He served on the Bermuda Police force from 1979 to 1990, mainly In St. George's. His mother-in-law is Mrs. Julia Durham of Crawl Hill.
Newspaper by Ancestry records that the Philadelphia Daily News carried a related story on 1st December 1994:
One who did was Anthony Pierre, 37, a law school grad working as manager of an East Mount Airy store.
Pierre died because he reached for an alarm button when Cartair, 24, pointed a gun at him and announced a stickup last Dec. 6.
Yesterday, a jury that had convicted Cartair of first-degree murder told Common Pleas Judge Eugene H. Clarke Jr. it could not agree on a death penalty. The judge was then required to sentence Cartair to life in prison.
During the trial, a witness said when Cartair heard a TV news report about the killing of Pierre, he bragged, “I did that. I don’t give a f--- about nothing but money. And l would kill anyone who gets in my way."
Assistant District Attorney Edward Cameron said Pierre, a former police officer in Bermuda and father of a 2-year-old, was shot to death while managing the Dollar Value Store on Stenton Avenue near Durham Street.
He had been waiting to take the state bar examination after graduating from Widener University Law School. During a penalty hearing, Cameron called a witness who said Cartair, of Pickering Street near Phil-Ellena in Cedarbrook, told him that he had shot Pierre because the victim recognized him.
Cameron said Cartair’s girlfriend worked at the store, so “the odds are that he had been in there before."
A web search also found an interesting aftermath to this tragic story, which shows that it is not only the victims friends and family who face devastating consequences from acts of violence.
The Morning Call is a LeHigh Valley, Pennsylvania newspaper.
On 3rd February 2018 The Morning Call carried a story headlined Generations of Philly families are incarcerated together. It is along thought provoking article from which I have taken the introduction and the part that is directly relevant to the murder of Anthony Pierre.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — As the bus rattled toward the State Correctional Institution - Graterford, Jorge Cintron Jr. could barely contain his excitement, a nearly childlike giddiness. Though the journey had been 14 hours, most of it in shackles, he wasn't close to tired.
To the other weary inmates in mustard-yellow "D.O.C." jumpsuits, what loomed ahead was just another prison: same bars and barbed wire, same bland food, same thin mattresses. But Cintron was about to be with his father, his namesake — the role model he had followed into the drug world, into court on murder charges, and then into prison, their twin life sentences imposed eight years apart.
It had been 20 years since he had last seen the man everyone said he took after. "Lil Lolo," his father’s friends from Philadelphia's Fairhill section would call him. Now, he was about to come face to face with Jorge Cintron Sr., Lolo himself.
"I hadn‘t hugged my father in so many years, or heard his voice," Cintron Jr. said. "It was bittersweet, because we're both in prison and having to see each other in here."
Just on the block alone, there are families, cousins. There is nothing for it. It's the cycle. It's the generational curse.— Jorge Cintron Jr.
Even when fathers stay in touch, parenting from prison isn't easy. Julian Dan grew up visiting his father, Amir Cartair, at Graterford.
"I didn't know he was in jail. I thought he was at work," Dan said. "When I was 10 or 11, I found out what it was. It was one of the worst experiences I can remember. I always looked up to my dad, and when they told me what he was in for, I looked at him differently."
In 1993, Cartair shot and killed Anthony Pierre, 37, a law school graduate managing an East Mount Airy dollar store until he could take the bar exam.
Cartair, now 48, looks back with deep regret. He said his father had just died, and he was in despair. "I had an I-don't-care attitude. I went on a binge of drugs, alcohol, crime, doing crazy things. I didn't have an outlet for therapy. I had no one to talk to."
He worries that Dan's childhood, in Mount Airy, was even bleaker. For a while, both Dan's parents were incarcerated. "He was going from place to place. He didn't have the stability a child needs."
Later, Dan's mother and sister both died of overdoses.
In a phone interview from Graterford, Julian Dan explains how his father's absence gave him the freedom to make bad decisions. "So I need to be out there for my daughter so she doesn't make worse mistakes."
The careful advice Cartair meted out on visits always seemed to fade away on the trip home. Dan ended up in the juvenile system for minor offenses - smoking weed, fighting and, later, more serious ones.
"There's times I've been doing good," he said. "That wouldn't last long. I would just stop caring."
Not long ago, Dan was shot five times. He bought a gun illegally, just to be safe. That's what landed him in Graterford. Seeing his father that first night, Dan said, "It felt weird - like, I'm really here, not just visiting you." Now, they talk daily, plotting Dan's future.
"We do things together,’ Cartair said. ”We work out. We play chess."
To Cartair, kids like his son didn't have much of a chance. "I think society has failed them. Their parents failed them. Their environment was not good." He is working on his associate's degree from Villanova, and trying to get his son into the church and into school. He wants Dan to provide the same guidance to his own daughter.
"The chain has to be broken. The cycle of grandfather, father, and son. It has to be broken somewhere, and I'm hoping it stops here."