BARNSTABLE, Trelawny – The Trelawny police are probing the circumstances surrounding the death of Corporal Melvin Douglas, who is believed to have accidentally shot himself in the groin on Thursday night.

The death of the corporal, a 35 year-old father of two, comes almost three months after he was transferred to the Stewart Town police station.

Douglas, having gone to court in Portland on Thursday morning, reportedly arrived home at Barnstable after 10:00 pm. On entering the premises he is said to have parked his car and went to close the gate when his licensed glock pistol discharged. He was hit in the groin and leg. He died later.

Yesterday his colleagues at the station house were in mourning at his passing.

“He is an untimely loss. It has an impact on all of us here. It really stress the staff here, but we are trying to cope anyway. We have to be strong for each other,” Constable Duane Henry told the Observer yesterday, adding that Douglas was a friendly, though firm, Christian man.

“He was easy to get along with. He was a friendly person, but firm,” he said.

Corporal Cyrus McPherson described the deceased Douglas as decent policeman.

“He was a good man. He was supportive and co-operative, a decent police officer. We all miss him very much,” McPherson said. “All of us, our spirits are low right now. It is really sad. It is a tragedy. We are trying to keep the faith.”

– williamsp@jamaicaobserver.com