Up to 6,000 police officers are expected to turn up at the Elletson Road sporting ground in Kingston, this evening, to mourn their three colleagues who were killed by rampaging gunmen last week. The police federation, which organised the event, will also use it as an opportunity to hammer home its demand for a wage increase.

The all-night vigil, which is scheduled to begin at 5:00 pm, was originally planned for the UDC parking lot in New Kingston, a venue the police federation had planned to blanket with heavy security.

“We had a security arrangement second to none (planned for the UDC site) – land, air and sea,” said the federation’s public relations officer, Sergeant David White.

Those plans were scrapped after the decision to move the vigil to the enclosed Elletson Road compound – a large, open field surrounded by several buildings that are occupied by cops. About 200 police officers work out of those buildings that house:

. the Elletson Road police station,

. the JCF’s motorised patrol division,

. the eastern divisional headquarters,

. the police force’s telecommunications headquarters and

. its traffic headquarters.

“We wouldn’t need that (level of security that had been planned for the UDC venue) now that we are in an enclosed police compound,” explained White. “Nowhere is ever totally safe, but the security we would need on the outside, we don’t need to put that on the inside.”

He added, however, that convenience, and not safety concerns, had been the major determining factor that led to the change of venue.

Seven cops have been killed so far this year, only four less than the 11 killed for all of last year. Inspector Lascelles Walsh of the Motorised Traffic Division, Corporal Hewitt Chandler of the Protective Services Division and District Constable Canute Brown of the Cross Roads Police Station were killed between last Tuesday and Wednesday.

They were cut down in what has been described as a co-ordinated assault that began with a gun battle at the intersection of West Kings House and Waterloo Roads in Kingston. Hewitt and two gunmen were killed in that incident.

Brown died after gunmen opened fire on the Cross Roads Police Station in St Andrew, while Walsh was killed as he drove along Port Royal Street in Downtown Kingston. Forty-six year-old security guard Richard Adams was also killed on Wednesday.

The killings, described as an attack on the state, have been roundly condemned by lawmen, the government, the private sector and members of civil society. Cops have linked the shootings to last month’s police killing of Tivoli Gardens “community leader” Donovan “Zion Train” Griffiths.

One of the gunmen killed in the incident along West Kings House and Waterloo roads was later identified as Christopher “Chris Royal” Coke, the son of the late Tivoli Gardens enforcer, Lester Lloyd Coke, know as “Jim Brown”. “Chris Royal” is also said to be the half-brother of a well-know Tivoli Gardens figure with whom he shares the same name, but who is usually referred to as “Dudus”.

After Griffith’s death, cops had received reports that his cronies had vowed revenge. There were similar reports that cops would pay for last week’s slaying of Coke. But even in the face of rumours that cops on foot patrol may be targetted this weekend, lawmen have made it clear that they do not intend to cower in fear. They remained on high alert yesterday.

“Since Wednesday we have heightened our awareness as the pattern of violence showed a systematic attack on the police,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of operations Owen Ellington. “The police are taking all forms of precaution expected by law enforcement officers, to protect themselves and secure government property.”

He reassured the public that there was no need to panic as cops were re-assessing the situation daily. Ellington added that lawmen would be advised to raise their level of alertness as necessary, based on the flow of intelligence and depending on the level of threat to police safety and national security.

“I want to advise the public that, never mind the attacks and threats to us, we are more focused; we are not panicking, neither are we cutting back on service to the public,” he said.

Yesterday, the federation’s White told the Sunday Observer that public safety would not be jeopardised by today’s vigil as no lawman would be expected to skip work to attend.

“We are expecting all available personnel (to attend the vigil), those who are not rostered to work,’ he said.

White added that Sgt L V Pinnock, the 45 year-old lawman who was shot and injured in Ocho Rios, St Ann, Friday night, will also be mentioned at tonight’s vigil.

There will also be several speeches during which the issue of cops’ wages will be addressed, he said. The federation is asking for a 47 per cent salary increase. But the government has steadily pointed to the February 2004 Memorandum of Understanding.

The MOU put a three per cent cap on public sector workers’ salaries that were being negotiated before the agreement was signed, and froze salaries of all other government-paid employees.

The federation has argued, however, that it never signed on to the MOU – an agreement hammered out by the government and the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions.

Reporters TK Whyte and Kerry McCatty contributed to this story