Policeman burnt to death

A 32-YEAR-OLD district constable attached to the Rockfort Police Station in eastern Kingston became the latest casualty of the three-day-old gunfighting between members of the security forces and gunmen in West Kingston, which quickly escalated to other areas across the island yesterday.

Roadblocks were mounted in almost every Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) stronghold across the Corporate Area. There were reports of shootings between members of the security forces and protesters at the scenes of some of the demonstrations, but there were no reports of any injuries.

"We ago bun down de place if dem nuh ease off a Tivoli. A plan dem a plan fe kill out de labourite dem," a group of demonstrators in Tawes Pen, St. Catherine, told The Gleaner.

The dead policeman has been identified as Collin Thomas. He was burnt beyond recognition in his private motor car early yesterday morning. Only human bones and pieces of flesh were seen in the burnt-out car.

Reports are that about 3:30 a.m. he was driving along Mountain View Avenue when, on reaching the vicinity of Jacques Road a group of gunmen signalled him to stop.

He ignored the signal and the gunmen opened fire at him. He was shot and the vehicle crashed along the roadway. A mob proceeded towards the vehicle and set it ablaze, burning the policeman alive.

He is the third member of the security forces to be killed in three days and the seventh policeman to die violently since the start of the year. Mr. Thomas was appointed on December 22 last year and would have celebrated his 32nd birthday on July 28.

The West Kingston community was saturated with heavily armed police and soldiers yesterday, providing them with the opportunity to remove some of the bodies from the streets of the neighbourhood.

A number of these persons were either killed in crossfire or were the targets of the bullets which took their lives. The lawmen have take control of the troubled community.

Soldiers and police officers were strategically positioned on roof tops, beneath army trucks and at almost every corner of the community between North Street and Spanish Town Road, bordered by Rose Lane to the east and Regent Street to the west.

Apart from the shooting, life has been hell for residents living in the area. One woman told The Gleaner that people were hungry, because they had been unable to purchase food from the nearby shops.

"Every time we come out a street fe go buy something to eat de police and soldier dem run we in a we yard back. We hungry from Saturday we nuh eat nutten," the woman said.

The Kingston Public Hospital was yesterday transformed into a temporary base for soldiers. Several army vehicles parked at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital in expectancy of another outbreak of violence.

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