Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) executive Horace Levy (right) addresses a press conference dealing with a petition for the removal of a policeman from front-line duty at the lobby group's Grants Pen Road, St. Andrew headquarters yesterday. At left are Susan Goffe and Carolyn Gomes (centre). - Michael Sloley /Freelance Photographer HUMAN RIGHTS lobby group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) is pressing the Government and the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to follow through on a 'precautionary measure' issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in hopes of getting a police inspector removed from front-line duty.
Following a petition by JFJ in July, IACHR recently requested the Government take urgent steps to protect the lives of residents of Area 4, West Kingston. The IACHR also requested that thorough, prompt and impartial investigations be conducted into incidents of police abuse and where appropriate, punish those responsible.
The requests came after JFJ petitioned IACHR to declare the Government in violation of its human rights obligations. IACHR is the human rights monitoring body of the Organisation of American States (OAS) and attends to petitions filed by groups alleging violations of human rights in OAS member countries like Jamaica.
On July 10, JFJ wrote to the IACHR citing failed petitions to the Government to have the JCF remove a Detective Inspector from front-line duty following a series of controversial police killings under his jurisdiction.
JFJ requested that the IACHR, which has no legal jurisdiction in Jamaica, issue a precautionary measure to the Government demanding that it take immediate and urgent steps to ensure the security of citizens in Area 4 in which Hunts Bay falls.
JFJ documented the involvement of the inspector in six fatal shootings over the past three years. These six were singled out from among 46 incidents involving the Inspector and other officers, as well as a further four fatal shootings referred to by the Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI).
The six shootings were those of Oneil Hall - killed July 7, 1999; William Richards, September 19, 2000; Karon Foreman, March 14, 2001; Eneil Singh, February 9, 2002; Michael Scarlett, April 9, 2002 and Desmond Fraser, May 29, 2002.
JFJ said yesterday that the details of the killings, several of which were done in the presence of a girlfriend, relative or friend, removed questions of a shoot-out as alleged in all cases by the police.
After the first four killings, JFJ wrote several letters to the Police Commissioner, Security Minister and others, but failed to get a reply. The letter after the sixth killing, JFJ said, drew a request for information from the Justice Ministry but no action was taken.
"The failure of the Government and the JCF to remove the Inspector from the front line in spite of repeated notifications violates the JCF's own staff orders," JFJ said.
The IACHR held that a thorough, prompt and impartial investigation had not been conducted into the shootings and other incidents in which the Inspector was implicated and that the Government failed to provide the IACHR with the specific information that it requested.
