THE police’s Bureau of Special Investigations yesterday swabbed the hands of officers involved in Tuesday’s fatal shooting of two people in the St Thomas district of Hampstead, and also seized their firearms for ballistic testing.

The shooting of the two – Dexter Hyatt, 31, and Tian Wolfe, 19, – has already put a strain on the relationship between the police and members of the St Thomas community, prompting Commissioner of Police Lucius Thomas to order a full probe into the incidents.

The officers involved have also been removed from front-line duty, in keeping with the constabulary’s use of force policy.

In addition, the police high command, which yesterday advised the security minister, Derrick Smith, of actions taken in dealing with the shootings, said statements have already been collected from several persons who have come forward, while other who have information on the shootings were asked to tell the police what they know.

In the meantime, the police high command said its chaplaincy unit was yesterday directed to visit the families of the deceased and offer its support.

Yesterday, residents of Hampstead accused the police of brutally beating and murdering Hyatt in cold blood as he made his way to work.

They alleged that in an ensuing protest, which saw angry residents blocking roads in Yallahs and in Hampstead, Wolfe, who was said to be pregnant, was shot after an officer allegedly fired a rifle into the group of protesters.

“The police dem kill Dexter innocent and them turn round and kill the pregnant woman, we no want them round here. Them too wicked,” one woman said yesterday.

The police, however, gave a different story, saying that cops, on an operation in the community, were fired at by gunmen. The cops, the police said, returned the fire and when the shooting died down Hyatt was found suffering from gunshot wounds, with a 9mm Taurus revolver clutched in his hand.

The illegal gun was sent to the forensic laboratory for ballistic tests, the police said yesterday.

At the same time, the police said they fired in the crowd of protesters after they were fired on and stones hurled at them.

Yesterday, Minister Smith and his junior security minister, Arthur Williams, along with MP James Robertson visited the grieving relatives of Hyatt and Wolfe, and assured them that if any police excess could be proven then justice would be served.

Smith told the relatives and members of the community that the new Jamaica Labour Party Government would be working assiduously to reduce and eventually stamp out instances of police abuse and extra-judicial killings.

“As the government now, we are in a position to substantially reduce incidents of this nature. The Jamaican people for a long time have been bawling out, ‘we want justice’, and the Jamaica Labour Party is a party of justice,” Smith told a small group of persons gathered with the relatives of the deceased in Hampstead.

In the meantime, a heavy contingent of police were yesterday deployed in the community to maintain the peace.

– Additional reporting by Corey Robinson