Nagra Plunkett, Staff Reporter
CAMPBELL
WESTERN BUREAU:
A POLICE constable reportedly committed suicide following a domestic dispute with his 23-year-old girlfriend, who he shot and injured at their home in Llandilo, Westmoreland, last night.
The dead cop has been identified as 28-year-old Ramon Campbell, who was attached to the Savanna-la-Mar Criminal Investigation Branch.
The cop's girlfriend was admitted to hospital in serious condition with a gunshot wound to her left shoulder. He is the second policeman to have committed suicide since the start of the year.
On September 10, Ezra Dennis, a 40-year-old police corporal, shot and killed his 25-year-old partner, Natalia Anderson, at her home in Eltham Park, St. Catherine, and then turned the gun on himself.
In the meantime, the cop's colleagues have been left traumatised by the incident.
"I was in the emergency room with him when he took the last breath. I really don't know how I will deal with it. I wish it was a dream," recalled Constable Peter Johnson, a close friend of Campbell's.
"It is an unfortunate incident and it is surprising because he was a quiet fellow. I knew they had some problems, like all couples, but not to the extent where it would lead to such a tragedy."
LEAVES YEAR-OLD SON
Campbell, originally from Kingston, enlisted in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) in August 1999. He had a one-year-old son with his injured girlfriend.
Police reports are that at 11:30 p.m., Campbell and his girlfriend were at home when an argument developed. Explosions were heard and Campbell was later found lying on the roadway with a gunshot wound to his head.
His son's mother was subsequently found inside the house suffering from a gunshot wound. The couple was taken to the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital, where Campbell died while undergoing treatment.
