Tyson, a highly trained interdiction dog gifted to the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) by the French government, died under what authorities have described as “suspicious” conditions less than a year after being deployed.

Prime Minister Pierre stressed that the matter should not be taken lightly and reaffirmed his government’s commitment to ensuring justice is served.

Said Pierre: “I’m very concerned about that development, and I expect the police to have a full investigation into the causes of the death of the K9. If anything is found, if there’s anything that has to be done in terms of punishment after the investigations are done, the full force of the law must be brought upon the person or persons responsible.”

Pierre also expressed gratitude to the French government for its contribution and partnership in Saint Lucia’s law enforcement efforts: “I want to thank the French government for making the K9 available to us. It’s a very unfortunate circumstance, and we hope there is a reason. We are disappointed that this happened.”

He revealed that ongoing security discussions with France would continue later this year, including a planned security summit. However, he acknowledged the need for Saint Lucia to begin developing its own domestic capacity for canine training.

“Can we consider getting our own canines trained and becoming less dependent on foreign agents? That is something we must look at,” Pierre explained. “But people must understand it takes time. It takes years to train a canine for these kinds of specialised duties. The ones we receive from our partners are already prepared and ready for deployment.”

A formal police investigation into Tyson’s death is ongoing. The RSLPF has confirmed that a postmortem was conducted and that internal and external leads are being pursued. Authorities have also pledged to provide updates as the case develops.