MONTEGO BAY, St James – Police corporal Grantley Waite, 48, was last night in a critical condition in the Kingston Public Hospital, following the alleged beating on Wednesday by his colleagues at the barracks of the Mount Salem Police Station here in Montego Bay.

“He (Waite) is in a critical condition, he can’t move his hand nor his feet and he can barely speak,” general secretary of the Jamaica Police Federation Corporal Hartley Stewart told the Observer last night.

Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas, who offered his sympathy to the family of the police corporal, last night ordered a top level investigation into the alleged beating.

The investigation is being spearheaded by the Professional Standard Branch and is being led by Assistant Commissioner Novelette Grant.

“Right now we are in the middle of investigation and we are determined to get at the truth and as soon as the person or persons responsible are identified the full force of the law will be applied,” said commanding officer for St James William Clarke.

Police sources said that last Wednesday Corporal Waite, who is assigned to the St Andrew Central Police Division, went to the barracks of the Mount Salem Police Station where he requested a drink of water.

When his request was not granted, the policeman reportedly walked to the refrigerator and began pouring water into a cup when he was allegedly accosted by policemen who were unaware that he was a member of the constabulary.

Waite who did not have proper identification was reportedly beaten by the cops, who accused him of impersonating the police.

He was taken to the nearby Cornwall Regional Hospital for treatment but was later transferred to the Kingston Public Hospital when his condition worsened.

Stewart said last night that the Police Federation was assisting with medical care for the wounded corporal.

“We are at the moment focusing on providing proper care for him to that extent we have had doctors to assess his condition and to recommend special treatment for the policeman,” Stewart said.

At the same time, the federation has condemned the alleged beating of Corporal Waite, who has served the force for 30 years.

“If the allegations are proven to be true, it is reprehensible that any member of the Jamaican public could be treated in this way but if a man identifies himself as a police officer in a police station and is assaulted then it is even moreso…,” Stewart said.

He said the Federation was taking a special interest into the investigation and was also conducting its own probe.

Meanwhile, the human rights group, Jamaicans For Justice yesterday reacted angrily to the incident.

The rights group said it noted with anguish the story of the “horrific beating” of Corporal Waite by his own colleagues in the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

It called for a prompt and impartial investigation into the beating of Corporal Waite and that those responsible should be put before in a court of law for their actions.

The group’s executive director, Dr Carolyn Gomes, said the incident has brought into sharp focus the reason why it was not time to put the Michael Gayle case to rest.

Gayle, a mentally-ill man, was beaten to death by soldiers and police at a barricade at Wint Road, Olympic Gardens in Kingston. He died two days after the August 21, 1999 assault.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) said recently that the police investigation of Gayle’s death was botched, and called on the government to publicly apologise to his family and pay compensation to his next of kin and mother Jenny Cameron.

The commission, whose ruling alleged that Gayle’s experience was akin to torture, also urged the Jamaican government to open a new investigation into the human rights abuses committed against Gayle, and to identify, prosecute and punish all the persons responsible for the violations.