From left are Scott, the deceased. At right, Merline Scott spends all the time she can with her grandson, Tamoky Scott Jr. Her son Tamoky Scott Sr. was killed by the police last July. -Patrick Campbell photos
Denise Clarke, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
ALMOST A year after police shot and killed her 22-year-old son, Merline Scott is still traumatised by the incident.
The timing of Tamoky Scott's death could not have been worse. It was the same day July 15, 2003 that Mrs. Scott received the date for her appointment with the United States Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS) to be interviewed for her green card. She had not seen her son since she emigrated to New York in 1994.
Tamoky was killed during an alleged shoot-out with the police in Davis Pen district, Trelawny. According to the police re-port, he was among three men aboard a Mitsubishi Lancer motor car who opened fire at the police, injuring an officer in the right leg. The lawmen returned the fire and Scott's body was later found with a gunshot wound.
However, once again the police version of events surrounding a fatal shooting is being disputed. Racquel Hall, who at the time was involved in a common-law union with Scott, said he had no criminal record and had not been in any trouble with the law before that date.
She is now left to care for their two children, four-year-old Tamoky Jr. and 20-month-old Arrianna.
Tamoky's mother is still troubled by the ordeal. She had left for America when her son was only 12 years old and eagerly looked forward to settling her immigration hurdles so she could see him again.
"I always call him and tell him to stay out of trouble, every chance I get. I got the call that I had the interview in January, that's when I called to tell my baby that I would soon be able to come and see him... when I called I heard that my son was dead," Mrs. Scott mumbled before bursting into tears.
She has many doubts about the lawmen's report of the incident, and yearns for some sort of closure for justice to be given for her son's life. She claimed to have been reliably informed that Tamoky had been shot in the mouth, a fact which has aroused her suspicions that the police's story might not be totally correct. She noted that, the only visible sign of a shoot-out was a bullet hole to the back windshield of the car. She is also surprised that when she viewed the car less than a week after the shooting, there were no visible bloodstains in the vehicle. The car has since been returned to the family.
The Bureau of Special Investi-gations is awaiting the results of forensic tests to wind up its probe and submit its findings to the Director of Public Prose-cutions (DPP) for a ruling. However, the Police Public Complaints Authority has completed its investigation into the incident and has already submitted that file to the DPP.
