Adrian Frater, News EditorWESTERN BUREAU:
AS WAS the case in the much publicised Kraal investigations, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) will be seeking overseas help in unravelling last October's controversial police shooting in Flankers, St. James, which resulted in the death of senior citizens, 63-year-old David Bacchas and 65-year-old Cecil Brown.
Speaking to the issue during a visit to St. James yesterday, Police Commissioner Francis Forbes acknowledged that the file, which was sent to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for a ruling last year, was now back in the hands of the police for further investigations.
"We are getting overseas help on this one," said Commissioner Forbes, when quizzed as to the status of the investigation. "We are in touch with Scotland Yard and they will be coming in to assist us with the investigations."
CROSSFIRE
Mr. Bacchas, a popular taxi-operator and Mr. Brown, a well-known newspaper vendor, were both shot and killed shortly after 5:30 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, October 18, in what the police claimed was a crossfire between them and heavily armed gunmen. Another senior citizen, Audrey Stephens, who was travelling in the car in which the two men were killed, was also shot and injured.
The police's account of the incident earned the wrath of residents of Flankers, who strongly denied the claim of a shoot-out. The angry residents, who claimed the men were murdered in cold-blood, staged two days of demonstrations, which were highlighted by flaming barricades at strategic locations along the much-used Montego Bay to Falmouth main road.
PUBLIC OUTCRY
In response to the public outcry to the killings, the then St. James Crime Chief, Deputy Superintendent Derrick 'Cowboy' Knight, who led the police team to Flankers, was removed from front line duty along with the policemen involved in the shooting.
In the days following the shooting, both Security Minister Dr. Peter Phillips and the Police Commissioner visited the area and apologised to the families of the slain men. Superintendent Artice Brown-Getton was later dispatched to the area to act as the police's liaison officer with the community. The JCF also contributed just over $500,000 towards the funeral expenses of both men.
In the Kraal case, which stemmed from an incident in which two men and two women were killed during an alleged shoot-out with members of the now defunct Crime Management United (CMU), detectives from Scotland Yard were brought in to help with the investigations.
