CAYMAN ISLANDS/Sint Maarten – The Sint Maarten community is today, mourning the passing of former Commissioner of Police, Derrick Holiday. He died in the Cayman Islands following surgery Monday morning.
The late Holiday, who served as a law enforcement officer for many years in the then Netherlands Antilles, became the Chief Commissioner of Police in the Windward Islands (Sint Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba) following the retirement of his predecessor, the late Walter Kramers on Wednesday, October 27th in 1999.
Holiday served as Chief of Police until Tuesday, February 5th in 2008, when he was arrested at his home in Oyster Pond on suspicion of forgery.
The late Derrick Holiday, who would have celebrated his birthday in April, died 35 days shy of 65 years.
As an average sportsman, Derrick Holiday was the captain of the Rams Cricket Club, Media Houses Cricket Team, who eventually became the president of the Sint Maarten Cricket Association. He was also an average table tennis player as well.
The late Holiday left to mourn many persons in the community, including his brother, the Governor of Sint Maarten, His Excellency drs. Eugene B. Holiday.
Speaking to our news department, the Chief of Police, Carl John stated that he and the decease had a good working relationship, and that Mr. Holiday always made it his business to fight for the Police Force of Sint Maarten as well as the people who worked with him. “Because people like Mr. Holiday, we still have a police force that we can build on,” the Police Chief told our news department.
Meanwhile, the former Police Spokesman and Chief Inspector Ricardo Henson, described as good, his working relationship with the late Holiday, which dated back to the 1980s. He also acknowledged the role of Mr. Holiday in the development of the Police Corp.