Five cops removed from front-line duty
FIVE policemen, who were involved in Saturday’s shooting in which a bystander was fatally shot, have been removed from front-line duty as the Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) probes the incident.
Three of the lawmen are from the Portmore police station and two from Spanish Town.
According to the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN), the police’s information arm, 37 year-old train gate operator Linton Rodney was killed during a shoot-out between the lawmen and armed men in Bog Walk, St Catherine. But residents, who claim that the man whom they call Dean was shot at close range, have accused the police of murder, a claim shared by member of parliament for the area, K D Knight.
Speaking during a newscast on TVJ last night, Knight said that based on the information supplied by the protesters, it was “clear” to him that “the young man was murdered”.
The CCN’s liaison officer for St Catherine North said that about 7:30 pm, members of a police party went in pursuit of a number of men in Bog Walk who were reportedly involved in a robbery in the Portmore area on Friday night. On the approach of the police, the men were seen in the vicinity of the train line alighting from a car, armed with handguns.
On seeing the police, the men reportedly opened fire at them. The fire was returned and a shoot-out ensued. When the shooting subsided, it was discovered that Rodney and one of the gunmen were shot. They were taken to the Linstead Hospital where Rodney was pronounced dead and the gunman treated and released into police custody. Another gunman was held following the shooting. Their names are being withheld to facilitate the investigation, according to the police.
Residents, who have disputed the police’s account of the incident, staged protests and mounted roadblocks Saturday night and yesterday morning. They cleared the blockages after they were addressed by the commanding officer for St Catherine North, Superintendent Clifford Blake.