Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams (second left) walks with Corporal Leighton Bucknor (centre) and other policemen freed in the Braeton trial.
Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter
POLICE COMMISSIONER Lucius Thomas believes that the former head of the disbanded Crime Management Unit (CMU), Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams, has a place in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).
The Commissioner told The Sunday Gleaner that if Mr. Adams is acquitted of charges of conspiracy to murder, then he will be accepted back in the JCF and reinstated to front-line duties.
"I would reinstate him into the system because he has something to offer," Mr. Thomas said firmly.
Mr. Adams was suspended last year after charges were brought against him, arising out of the controversial fatal shooting in Kraal, Clarendon, in May 2003, where four persons were killed by members of the CMU.
The flamboyant Mr. Adams had a stormy relationship with Commissioner Thomas' predecessor, Francis Forbes. On several occasions he openly criticised Mr. Forbes' leadership style.
But the then Commissioner said the CMU's demise was due to its own failure to fulfil its primary objective. At the time, Mr. Forbes pointed out that the high stress levels, compounded by the non-fulfilment of the CMU's original mandate were among the main factors which prompted him to effect changes.
HIGHLY STRESSED
"When I looked at the people at CMU, there was every sign that they were highly stressed and when an operational policeman is highly stressed, he is likely to make mistakes," Mr. Forbes said at the time.
SSP Adams came to prominence in the 1990s, during his tour of duty in Spanish Town, St. Catherine. In September 2000, he was given the task to lead the CMU, which was launched by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson.
