COMMANDANT Osmond Bromfield of the Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF) described as “unfortunate” comments made by a senior member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force that ISCF members are out of control, following the shooting death of a mechanic by one of its members in Half-Way-Tree last Saturday.

“The comment seems unfortunate in my view. It is unfair to say that we are the most aggressive of the two units,” Bromfield told the Observer. “If you analyse the controversial police actions over the last three years, one in every 50 may involve an ISCF member.”

The shooting of Portmore, St Catherine resident Trevor Anderson, 38, at the busy Portmore bus stop was immediately condemned by a senior police officer on the scene, who described the behaviour of some ISCF members as “mad dog” and “aggressive”.

“Some of them are too aggressive. We have been getting a lot of complaints about them,” the cop who asked not to be named said then. “.When senior members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force talk to them, they don’t like it. They are even aggressive towards us.. Even the sergeants among them behave like mad dogs most times.”

Last May, several special constables were caught on camera beating a woman, Margaret Berry, in busy Half-Way-Tree. The incident sparked widespread public outrage, which eventually led to the removal of then commandant of the Force from frontline duties. In another incident, camera phone footage of a male constable in a tussle with a middle-aged woman in downtown Kingston was aired on national television. That incident heightened the debate about the conduct of members of the ISCF.

On Tuesday, Bromfield revealed that “a few” members of the public and the constabulary have called his office to report ISCF members but refuse to file formal complaints.

“Formal complaints are what we act upon,” Bromfield said, pointing to the fact that a special is about to be dismissed from the force after being found guilty on an assault charge in the Spanish Town Resident Magistrate’s Court recently. He said that another special is currently before the court in St Elizabeth on a similar charge, while another is being investigated.

Bromfield described Anderson’s death as “unfortunate” – and noted that the matter would be “investigated thoroughly”.