THE St James police have now identified the persons responsible for the murder of detective inspector Rupert Gardner, according to senior superintendent in charge of St James, Owen Ellington.

“We have made some very good progress. We know now how many persons were involved and we know the identities of the persons and it’s just a matter of finding them,” he told the Observer in an interview Wednesday. “We’re working night and day, following every lead, and we are confident that we’ll have an early meeting with them.”

Gardner was gunned down last month as he transacted business in a Cambio in the Westgate section of Montego Bay. His murder was said to be caught on surveillance tape but one man who was originally identified as a suspect was later cleared of the murder charge. Since then, the police have been trying to enhance the tape and have been following leads to find Gardner’s killers.

The police officer had pulled his weapon in an attempt to defend himself from his attackers but his gun malfunctioned.

According to Ellington, since Gardner’s gun was stolen by his killers as they fled the scene, experts have been unable to analyse it to determine what went wrong.

“We have seen, on tape, evidence which would indicate that the gun exhibited a defect at the time that he was attacked,” Ellington said. “We haven’t had a professional opinion as to what happened with the weapon. But we always remind our people to ensure that their weapons are clean, in the most serviceable condition and that they have rounds that are serviceable in them. But situations like these can develop without warning.”

Ten police officers have been killed since the start of the year, with five of those deaths occurring in the past month. The deaths have sent shock waves throughout the force and its members are being instructed to take extra precautions.

“Internally, we have reminded them of steps to take to reduce the risks whether on the job or off the job. In terms of deployment, we have to ensure that no one person is deployed on duty anywhere; and at the station guard room, we have advised people to exercise extra vigilance in those areas,” Ellington said. “If the criminals are after police assets, more than likely they would come to the stations. But if they are after police persons they will take them anywhere, so we are hardening the target at both ends.”