Police Constable charged for assaulting wife with machete

Ronald Sutherland

Police Constable Ronald Sutherland ran afoul of the law on September twenty-eight when he allegedly assaulted his common law wife with a machete during a domestic dispute at a home on Police Street.  The twenty-eight year old officer was arraigned in Magistrates’ Court this morning on three charges, including one count each of aggravated assault, wounding and threatening words.  It is further reported that during the incident Sutherland threatened to kill Tanisha Ortiz, uttering the words, quote, I wah move from here but I wah kill yuh first, unquote.  Sutherland, who appeared unrepresented before Chief Magistrate Anne Marie Smith, pleaded not guilty to all three charges.  He was subsequently ordered to surrender his passport to the Clerk of Court and instructed not to leave the jurisdiction without the court’s permission.  Bail in the sum of one thousand dollars, plus one surety of the same amount, was offered PC Sutherland under the aforesaid conditions.  He must also report to the Queen Street Precinct every Friday until the conclusion of the matter.  Sutherland is scheduled to reappear in court on December sixth.