THE AREA 4 Police are in the process of reviewing the footage of last Friday's stone attack on the Denham Town Police Station, with a view of taking appropriate action against the students involved.
"We are going to take some action," head of the Kingston West Division, Deputy Superintendent Gary Griffiths, told The Gleaner yesterday.
"So far we have got some information on at least one of the students who was involved in the stone throwing."
On Friday scores of students clad in uniforms stormed the police station with stones and bottles, protesting the shooting of their schoolmate, 14-year-old Okelo Price, who is still hospitalised in intensive care and in critical condition.
The boy was shot during clashes between the security forces and gunmen in the community which left one man dead and two others injured, plus two patrol vehicles extensively burnt.
DSP Griffiths said the police met yesterday in an emergency meeting with the principal of the Denham Town High School, representatives from the Ministry of Education, the school's Parents-Teachers Association (PTA), the chaplain and the parents of the injured student.
EXPRESSED REGRET
Supt. Griffiths said the meeting expressed regret about the shooting incident. The police said based on information, it appeared that the students were strongly influenced by residents of the community. Supt. Griffiths said his team has since scheduled a meeting with representatives of the school's PTA for early next month.
Contacted yesterday, Senator Noel Montieth, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, told The Gleaner that he was unable to comment on the matter.
"I do not have all the background information to comment," he said.
The Senator said he has not been in touch with the Education Officer for that region and would need to read the officer's report before making a determination.
The attack on the police station last Friday came less than 24 hours after the Denham Town Police had invited members of the Dispute Resolution Unit into the area for a pep-talk on conflict resolution.
Children of varying ages were involved in the fracas. However, under the Juvenile Law, no child under the age of eight years can be found guilty of any offence. Crime officer for Area 4, Superintendent Calvin Benjamin, said the students involved could be brought before the court for consideration for placement in state care.
According to a sub-officer of the Kingston West Community Relations Division, the police have implemented a series of programmes, visiting and offering lectures on various topics in schools across the division.
"We have been targeting the students who tend to give a lot of trouble," said the sub-officer.
