A controversial operation at His Majesty’s Prison has ended in the death of an inmate with a documented severe mental health condition, prompting an official investigation into the circumstances of the incident.
Lt. Col. Trevor Pennyfeather, the prison’s top superintendent, publicly confirmed Wednesday that 45-year-old Rashawn “Turtle” Shabazz passed away early Thursday morning in the aftermath of a joint intervention carried out by prison staff and local law enforcement.
According to Pennyfeather’s official account, the crisis unfolded when Shabazz barricaded himself inside his locked cell and rejected repeated requests to exit for scheduled off-site medical care. Tensions escalated when the inmate allegedly made verbal threats to responding prison officers, prompting senior officials to call in local police for backup to de-escalate the situation.
Multiple sources close to the operation confirm that law enforcement deployed less-lethal crowd control tools during the intervention, including rubber bullets and tear gas, to force Shabazz out of his cell. He was removed from the cell still breathing, but immediately began experiencing severe respiratory distress and persistent coughing. Emergency responders rushed him to the territory’s main public care facility, Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre, where medical teams were unable to save him and he was pronounced dead a short time later.
In the wake of the death, Pennyfeather said he had personally met with Shabazz’s immediate family to extend official condolences on behalf of the prison administration. To address lingering questions about how the incident unfolded, a full independent investigation and formal autopsy have been ordered to document the exact cause and sequence of events leading to Shabazz’s death.
Background on the deceased reveals a long history of interaction with law enforcement and mental health services. Shabazz was first shot by police in August 2023 during a public disturbance near the Perry Bay Supermarket, after which he was admitted for intensive treatment at Clarevue Psychiatric Hospital. Court and medical records confirm he had a formal diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, a chronic mental health condition that impacts mood and cognitive function.