Residents protest cop's killing

WESTERN BUREAU:

ANGRY RESIDENTS yesterday staged a massive protest in Rio Bueno, Trelawny, against Monday night's slaying of District Constable Errol Stephenson, the third member of the police force to be killed since Saturday.

The residents also tried to storm the police station to get their hands on the three suspects who were held in connection with the killing, noting that they wanted to dispense their own justice. "We don't want them to go through the courts where they will get three years," one man declared.

According to the Trelawny police, Mr. Stephenson, along with three other colleagues, were carrying out patrol duties in Rio Bueno following reports that roadblocks would be staged in the area. On reaching the town square at about 10:30p.m., the police team came upon a small roadblock which they stopped to clear. Mr. Stephenson was the first to get out of the police vehicle and after bending to pick up a piece of debris from the street was hit on the head with a rock. He later died.

"It was difficult to pinpoint who actually killed District Constable Stephenson," explained Andrea Brown, CCN officer for the parish of Trelawny. "We have established that 10 people were at the scene of the roadblock and we have three of them in custody," said Andrew Brown, the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) officer for Trelawny.

One of the suspects almost didn't make it into police custody as the residents, for a while had him in their grasp. They beat him mercilessly with sticks and boards. He was rescued by the police. That was when the residents decided to storm the station and only the police firing warning shots in the air prevented them from breaking through the station guard.

"My nephew did no harm to anybody," said a tearful Althea Johnson. "He was all about helping people and for them to do this to him is just plain evil."

"He was a friend to everybody in this community, that's what hurt," added Carol Greaves. "All he was doing was clearing a roadblock, I don't see why they had to do this to him."

The other members of the police force killed since Saturday were Corporal Mark Henry and District Constable Collin Thomas who was burnt in his car on Mountain View Avenue, St. Andrew.

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