Post-mortems on Tivoli dead delayed
THE Police High Command last night said that no post-mortems on the bodies of the people killed during the operation by the security forces in West Kingston last week will be done today.
The announcement reversed an earlier statement but did not give a reason for the postponement.
Last night, a Government source said the delay resulted from the fact that the independent pathologists contracted by the Government from overseas have not yet arrived.
Yesterday, the police announced the post-mortems for today, and invited relatives of the deceased to appoint independent pathologists to observe the process.
Relatives could acquire the services of independent pathologists via the Office of the Public Defender and Jamaicans For Justice, the police said.
“Albums with photographs of the dead will be displayed at the Police Complaints Office at the Tivoli Gardens Health Centre as well as at 14 Metcalfe Street and the Denham Town Police Station,” a release from the police said. It added that relatives could telephone the Office of the Public Defender at 922-7109 or 922-7089; or Jamaicans For Justice at 755-4355 or 755-4471.
The post-mortems, the police said, would be conducted at the Spanish Town Funeral Home, Spanish Town Hospital Morgue and Madden’s Funeral Home. The police had also promised to provide transportation to and from the venues.
Yesterday, relatives of people killed during the operation gathered outside Madden’s Funeral Home in downtown Kingston demanding to be allowed to identify the bodies of their family members.
“Something needs to be done. This is the third time I come to identify my sister who was shot dead in Tivoli last week and can’t get to see her,” said one woman.
Owner of the funeral home, Ferdinand Madden, said that with the large number of bodies, and with some of them in a decomposed state, plans would have to be made to accommodate all the families at a selected time.
“We want to appeal to the powers that be to speed up the process, and get the bodies buried,” said Madden.
Last night, the police said the public would be advised when the post-mortem operations will commence.
