Photo by Adrian Frater
Irate residents of Rose Heights, St. James vent their frustration to a member of the security forces during a protest in their community last month. Residents are accusing the police of being involved in an incident in which four men were killed in the community on November 27.

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

As heavily armed men clad in police-style denim and marked bullet-proof vest continue to wreak murderous havoc in St. James, residents are now faced with the challenging dilemma of differentiating between law-abiding cops, corrupt cops and criminals posing as cops.

Following an incident in Rose Heights, two weeks ago, where four men were shot dead by armed men dressed in denim and who identified themselves as police, the vicious scenario was again played out in Flankers, on Thursday night, resulting in the killing of another three men.

"We are faced with a wicked dilemma," said Peter Smith, a resident of Rose Heights. "If it is real police and we run we are breaking the law and if we stand up and a gunman, we stand fe lose we live, so it is just a wicked situation."

In the aftermath of the Rose Heights incident, which resulted in the shooting deaths of 38-years-old Derrick 'Mampy' Hyatt, 35-year-old Ian 'Fast Car' Holder, 28-year-old Anthony 'Duggu' Mowatt, and 32-year-old Junior 'Scaddy' Smith, residents staged two days of demonstrations, in which they claimed that the men were killed by policemen acting outside of the law.

"Kill me dead a police dweet," an alleged eyewitness told The Sunday Gleaner hours after the shooting. "Everything about how de man dem operate a police movement, a nuh so shotta move."

During a visit to Rose Height during the residents protest, head of the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB), Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Denver Frater, said the high command was treating the residents' concerns seriously and had not ruled out the possible involvement of rogue policemen.

"We are not ruling out a possible involvement by police personnel," ACP Frater told the residents. "We will be looking into this matter thoroughly and we will see where our investigations take us."

As the incidents of alleged police involvement in unlawful activities continue to grow in St. James, the matter has drawn scathing criticisms from the likes of Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas and other members of the Police High Command, who have collectively promised to weed out the rogue elements.

Since the start of this year, police personnel have been implicated in unsavoury activities such as the infamous 'lottery scam', which has been blamed for a spate of recent murders across the parish, drug dealing, incidents of extortion and a most embarrassing incident in which a police vest, which was not reported missing, was found in the hands of criminals.

"Unfortunately, some of our members are involved in criminal activities and that is undermining our ability to bring the crime situation in St. James under control," Deputy Commissioner in charge of crime, Mark Shield, told a Gleaner Editors' Forum, in Montego Bay, last week. "We are now taking steps to rid the force of these members as a part of our drive to regain the trust and confidence of the residents."

Criminal carnage

However, as the parish's criminal carnage continues to soar with the murder count for this year standing at a record 175, even some policemen are becoming frightened by the situation, especially the incidents involving the denim-clad killers.

"First time when I saw the uniform from a distance I use to drop my guard because I expect it to be a serving member," said a senior policeman, who asked not to be identified. "Now with some of our members mixed up and with these unidentified fellows out their wearing police-style uniform, I can no longer afford to drop my guard for a minute."

Within recent times, many changes have been made to the command structure of the St. James police; but despite those changes alongside the introduction of strategies jointly developed by the police in conjunction with civic, business and political leaders and the demise of several top-flight criminals, the parish remains crime invested, especially with regard to murders.