Bishop Cline calls for protest over Governor’s removal of Vanterpool

Outspoken clergyman Bishop John Cline has called for a public protest outside Government House following Governor Daniel Pruce’s decision to remove Acting Police Commissioner Jacqueline Vanterpool from her post.

Governor Pruce announced yesterday that Vanterpool — who has been Acting Commissioner for more than a year — will revert to her role as Deputy Commissioner on November 18. He has proposed former Gibraltar Commissioner of Police Richard Ullger, a UK national, to serve as Interim Acting Commissioner while the search for a permanent head continues.

The decision has sparked outrage among sections of the public, particularly because the Police Service Commission had reportedly recommended Vanterpool for the top job after she completed a formal selection process just days before being informed of her removal.

In a fiery Facebook Live address yesterday, Cline accused the governor of undermining local leadership and disregarding the BVI’s capacity to manage its own affairs. He urged residents to “show up and push back” against what he described as an unfair and colonial-style move.

“We need to show up to the governor’s house and demand answers,” Cline declared. “Tell us why you are removing one of our own — a competent, experienced, longstanding Virgin Islander — from a national security position to bring in someone from Gibraltar who doesn’t know us.”

Cline questioned the motive behind the governor’s move, arguing that Vanterpool’s performance had previously been publicly praised. “Was it because of incompetence? No. Was it because she did something wrong? No. The governor himself said she was doing a great job,” Cline said. “So if she was doing a great job, who is behind her removal?”

He further suggested that friction may have developed between Vanterpool and the governor over “what was legal and prudent” in certain decisions, and hinted that some UK officers within the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force may have resisted reporting to a black female commissioner.

A wider issue of control

The clergyman linked the governor’s action to what he described as a broader issue of colonial interference in the BVI’s governance. “This is our land. We are indigenous BVIslanders. We have the ability and capacity to run our own affairs,” Cline said. “But some of you still want to live in the 1700s. This is not 1950, and we are not standing for it.”

He called on all local media outlets — including BVI News, ZBVI, JTV, and others — to cover the protest and ensure the public’s voice is heard.

Cline said he plans to mobilise residents to gather outside Government House “by Friday morning or early next week” to deliver a petition demanding that Vanterpool be reinstated and the governor explain his decision.

In the meantime, Governor Pruce has defended his decision, saying it followed consultation and that the search for a new commissioner is ongoing. However, his announcement comes amid rising concern about violent crime, which the governor recently acknowledged has surged by more than 50 percent since the start of the year.

Cline warned that the sudden change in leadership is already destabilising morale within the police force. “It has shaken the police department to the core,” he said. “When these people work with this woman, doing their best to pull together a department that has suffered under foreign hands…and you tell her to go home. Do not let Governor Pruce get away with this decision.”