Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter
THE BUREAU of Special Investigation (BSI) has turned the searchlight on at least eight members of the police force who have reportedly fled the island,
following a ruling by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Kent Pantry, for them to be charged criminally.
"We have about 15 outstanding warrants for these policemen, ranging from murder to wounding," head of the BSI, acting Assistant Commissioner Granville Gause, told The Gleaner yesterday.
ACP Gause further explained that the names and photographs of the fugitive officers had already been published in the police gazette and other sources of information in the force.
"We have reasons to believe that they have fled the island," said ACP Gause, who has already approached the DPP for advice on how to have the officers extradited to the island to face the charges.
According to ACP Gause, the DPP has advised the BSI that if the location of the officers overseas could be identified, then the necessary arrangements would be made to have them arrested.
Among the policemen on the list are Constable Robert Cole, formerly of the Hunts Bay Police Station. He is wanted on warrants for murder and felonious wounding, arising out of an incident in Seaview Gardens, St. Andrew, on October 24, 2001, where three men were shot, one fatally.
District Constable Clement Rose Green, of the St. James division, has been implicated in the August 9, 2000 murder of Everton Stewart. Sergeant Derrick Bailey is wanted for the murder of Richard Williams, who was killed on Spanish Town Road, St. Andrew, on June 8, 2002.
10-YEAR-OLD KILLED
There is the case of 10-year-old Renee Lyons, who was killed by a policeman's bullet on July 25, 2003, in the Hunts Bay area. Constable Walter Spike, who was ruled charged with murder, has since been on the run.
Another controversial incident was the case of taxi driver, Kemar Bryan, who was killed by the police on September 9, 2001 in the busy Half-Way Tree area. Constable Winston Graham, who was implicated, is now being sought.
Constable Murphy Levy is being sought for the October 17, 2000 murder of his wife, Tara Johnson-Levy. Sergeant Dalton Brown, also on the run, was charged for breaches of the Corruption and Prevention Act, following an incident on December 29, 1999, involving a firearm.
Corporal Edward Stewart is also on the lam for the January 2004 shooting of Viola Barrett, in St. Elizabeth. Ms. Barrett, who was recently awarded over $17 million from the courts, was paralysed as a result of the incident.
The BSI said it has since implemented measures preventing police personnel under investigation from running away before the DPP has ruled on their cases.
