Police yesterday appeared to back-track from earlier claims that Constable Mark Haughton was killed by gunmen, amidst accusations by residents that he was hit by gun fire from his colleagues, in what could be a rare case of ‘friendly fire’.

At the same time, all the cops who were involved in the operation at Payne Avenue, the depressed South West St Andrew community, had their hands swabbed and statements taken from them, reliable sources told the Observer.

“We are not saying he was killed by friendly fire or by gunmen,” said Deputy Superintendent Michael Phipps, head of the St Andrew South Crime Division.

“We will await the result of a ballistic test on the bullet and then we will have enough evidence to pinpoint which gun killed him,” Phipps said.

A post-mortem conducted on Haughton’s body yesterday revealed that he died as a result of a single shot which entered his back, ricocheted off his spine and lodged in his liver.

The 25-year-old constable died about six hours after he was shot on Sunday night.

Phipps’ comments seemed to be a retreat from the police report the day before that gunmen had killed Haughton, who was on patrol.

Residents of Payne Avenue, a violence-prone enclave in the prime minister’s constituency, were insistent yesterday that the cops “killed their own man and want to blame us for it”.

“Nobody fired on them.,” claimed an outspoken woman, speaking for the residents.

The residents said the fact that the constable was shot in his back was “proof” that he was not killed by a gunman’s bullet.

“The policeman was leading the patrol. He was at the front, so a must one a dem kill him. Them must admit that it was an accident and maintain their morality,” another resident said.

The residents also claimed that the cops were taunting the community and expressed fears that they could be targets of the police who may be seeking revenge.