Stephanie Elliot and Ross Sheil, Gleaner Writers
A POLICEMAN WAS on Saturday night, like other Jamaicans before him, murdered for his licensed firearm.
Twenty-two-year-old Constable Buele Oxford, of the Rock River Police in Clarendon, had twice reported threats to kill him and steal his personal firearm. Yesterday criminals did just that, gunning him down near his home in Thompson Town in that parish.
The fifth policeman to be killed this year, he was found by colleagues about 3 a.m. on Sunday morning lying near his car, approximately 100 metres from his home, suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest. His firearm missing.
Police were responding to a call from his family who became concerned after he failed to return home from work. They had heard gunshots about 8 p.m. the night before, but said they did not make a report reasoning that such sounds were common in the community.
Commissioner of Police Lucius Thomas, in a release yesterday, described Constable Oxford's slaying as callous and unwarranted.
EFFORTS
"This is the fifth policeman to be killed since this year and while I mourn the loss of another member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force family, our resolve is further strengthened to not only bring the perpetrators of this heinous act to justice but also to redouble our efforts in the continuing fight against crime," he said.
The Police Commissioner added that, in the face of these wanton attacks on policemen and women, he and the other members of the management team will continue to build morale in the force in order to maintain a strong level of professionalism and discipline.
Senior Superintendent of the Clarendon Police, Derrick 'Cowboy' Knight, who was transferred to head the division three months ago, said Constable Oxford had proven to be an "ardent and disciplined" policeman during that time.
"To threaten any policeman in Jamaica is a serious thing, when someone feels they can just walk up to a policeman and kill him for his firearm," SSP Knight told The Gleaner yesterday. "This just shows the worrying stage we have reached in Jamaica."
He said the police have so far police made no arrests but are still following several leads.
