AS CONCERNS increase about the controversial killing of four persons during a police operation by the Crime Management Unit (CMU) on Wednesday in Clarendon, the residents have called a press conference today to clarify what they termed public misconceptions about the incident.
Member of Parliament for North Central Clarendon, Pearnel Charles, said yesterday the press conference has been called to give the media a tour of the community and the scene of the killings to help them understand how the shootings actually occurred.
He said that this was necessary, as police reports have differed from the evidence of community members, who have described the killings as cold-blooded murder.
Mr. Charles said that the community has also invited representatives of the Ausjam gold-mining company in Pennants to the press conference.
FIRE FROM GUNMEN
Police reports are that members of the CMU went to premises in Crawle, Clarendon on Wednesday evening. They said that, on entering the premises, they came under fire from gunmen leading to a shoot-out. Two women and two men were subsequently killed.
Civilian reports are that terrified children and adults ran for their lives during the shooting. The dead persons are: Angella Richards, 45, Lewena Thompson, 38, and two men identified by the police only as 'Matthew' and 'Renegade'.
The police alleged that the victims were part of a gang extorting money from Ausjam, an Australian-owned gold mining plant in Pennants, and that the gang had conspired to kidnap two of the operators of the company. However, Ausjam representatives have denied the police story about extortion and said the company had made no such reports and the local police had no information about extortion.
Although the police personnel involved were taken off front-line duties following the fatal shootings, the police said that it was a standard practice of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to allow those involved to receive counselling and not a disciplinary one.
Acting Commissioner of Police, Tilford Johnson, explained that JCF policy dictated that when members are involved in fatal shootings, they should start receiving counselling within 48-hours.
FRONT-LINE DUTIES
The Gleaner understands that the CMU policemen are to return to front-line duties, pending dialogue between investigators from the Bureau of Special Investi-gation (BSI), JCF Chaplin, Dr. Vivian Panton, and Assistant Commissioner Arthur 'Stitch' Martin, who is directly in charge of the CMU.
The Gleaner was unable to confirm reports that Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams, the most familiar face in the CMU, has been temporarily removed from front-line duties. A member of the Police High Command, said yesterday that it was his understanding that SSP Adams had been taken off front-line duties. But other officers with whom The Gleaner spoke were unsure if he was actually taken off.
In the meantime, the Victim Support Unit has implemented a programme to assist children experiencing post-traumatic stress disorders as a result of the shootings.
Head of the Clarendon Police Division, Deputy Superintendent Terrence Bent, told The Gleaner yesterday that members of the Victim Support Unit were in the district on Saturday "talking with the affected persons."
