'Corrupt cops must go'

ACTING Police Commissioner Owen Ellington, apparently embarrassed by the latest allegations that cops were actively involved in criminal gangs and other crimes, vowed yesterday to purge the constabulary of corrupt elements.

Ellington, speaking at a press conference at his office on Old Hope Road in St Andrew, said corruption was the bane of the constabulary and promised to use every means at his disposal to clean up the police force.

"I am deeply concerned at what appears to be an escalation in the activities or participation by members of the JCF (Jamaica Constabulary Force) in criminal gangs as well as consorting with known criminal elements," said a stern-faced Ellington.

"I am therefore issuing the warning to all members to stop associating themselves with criminals and criminal gangs," he said.

Ellington also warned the police that failure to heed his call to end corruption in the constabulary would result in dire consequences.

"As long as I am in charge, I will use every lawful means at my disposal to find those individuals and to get rid of them from the Jamaica Constabulary Force on the ground that they have lost my confidence as the police commissioner and they have lost the moral authority to continue serving the public," he said.

On Wednesday, two cops were arrested after they engaged their colleagues in a gunbattle at Lionel Town in Clarendon. One man was shot dead and another was injured in the gunfight.

The police reported that the two cops were among a group of four men who opened fire at them after they were intercepted in the community. An M16 assault rifle and two 9mm pistols were seized by the police.

Police investigators believe their two rogue colleagues and the two gunmen were in the area to avenge the death of Constable Steve Brown of the Mobile Reserve who was murdered near the Bustamante Highway in Clarendon on Monday evening.

Last week, a detective sergeant was arrested after he was caught accepting a bribe from a relative of a man who is charged with murder.

The policeman, who worked at the St Catherine South Police Division, allegedly told the accused man's relatives that he would drop the charge if they could pay him $500,000.

The cop later dropped the price to $200,000 -- to be paid in two instalments -- but was arrested when officers from the Anti-Corruption Branch set up a sting operation and caught him accepting $100,000.

Just two days ago, the police revealed that two corporals and a constable who worked with the Narcotics Division at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James were retired in the public interest for unprofessional conduct.

Governor General Sir Patrick Allen recommended that the retiring benefits of the three be reduced by 75 per cent due to their actions.

More than 60 members of the constabulary have been arrested for breaches of the Anti-corruption Act since January this year.

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