THAT’S a fabulous picture of Prime Minister Bruce Golding with US President Barack Obama at the recently concluded G20 meetings in Toronto. Nice shot too, of Ambassador to Washington Audrey Marks with President Obama. Seems as though we’re back in favour with the United States of America after Golding’s nine-month stand-off and then sudden turnaround to sanction a local warrant for the arrest of Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke.

Even Dudus himself appears relaxed and pleased in the wire photos which capture him in handcuffs and prison blues in a Manhattan court.

The columnal and emotional lightweight that I am, according to a dear reader, hit a brick wall and was rendered absolutely speechless by the carnage of, and subsequent overriding public response to the May 24 “incursion” which resulted from the Government’s consent to Dudus’s extradition.

While decidedly not in the “dem fi dead” camp (and it’s a very lonely camp, can I tell you?) there was a bright spot in all of the self-imposed doom and gloom when confronted with the headline emblazoned across the front page of this publication that: “Dudus wet himself.”

That we had sunk to the lowest of the low in reporting on the personal, uncontrollable, unhygienic tick of a fugitive meant that we had hit rock bottom with this whole Dudus affair and we have, as a country, nowhere to go but up. Hope springs eternal.

“He wasn’t sweating and the vehicle had the air-condition on, so you could clearly see the impression on his pants that some wetting was going on when we took him out. Rain was in the area, but it wasn’t caused from that,” said one of the intercepting policeman who spoke to this paper on the condition of anonymity.

Hardly shocking. It’s a normal physical reaction to being very, very frightened or to having far too many drinks and not enough time to “go”. Coke’s in good company. Andem gang member Richie Poo wet himself when captured by the police in 2005 — begging them all the while not to kill him. Pop star Fergie peed herself on stage during a 2005 concert with the Black Eyed Peas in San Diego after having too much to drink.

Coke, the alleged leader of the Shower Posse, was travelling with Reverend Al Miller along the Mandela Highway when police intercepted the sports utility vehicle in which they were travelling. They allowed Miller to leave the scene and then took Coke to Up Park Camp in Kingston. Coke is now in the custody of United States law enforcement agencies in New York and has pleaded ‘not guilty’ to charges of gun and drug-running. Ironically, the Reverend Miller — who was asked by Coke to facilitate his surrender to the (American) authorities, was asked to turn himself in, which he did — was charged with harbouring a fugitive and perverting the course of justice.

If in fact the end justifies the means — as is apparently the case with the very successful gangster-cleansing prescribed by the current State of Emergency — then Miller is a hero, having single-handedly delivered Coke to the authorities after they, despite a tight dragnet and three-week joint military/police operation search, were unable to locate him.

But as we all know, no good deed goes unpunished. While we appreciate the fact that no one is above the law, we can only hope that the judge will apply leniency in Reverend Miller’s case when he or she considers the greater good that has come of Miller’s actions.

The effort to capture Coke had put the nation on pause, tension and anxiety were at an all-time high, and violence escalated to an unprecedented level. When Coke was captured, the sense of relief was palpable.

Now, with Coke safely in custody, Jamaica can move forward and the Government and security forces can seek sustainable solutions to the problem of organised crime. We believe Miller’s intentions were pure, noble and brave. Very brave. For what is most surprising about the capture is, in the face of armed forces known for shooting first and asking questions later, that the Reverend Miller himself did not pee his pants when stopped on the Mandela Highway.

Surely, he must have seen his life flash in front of him — but clearly Miller is right with his God and his sense of righteousness overrode any fear he may have had for his and Coke’s life.

A first offer from the police and the Jamaica Defence Force of $1.7 million (US$20,000) for information leading to Coke’s capture was later increased to $5 million. Were it left up to me, I’d give the Rev Al Miller the $5m bounty that was placed on the head of Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke. He’ll need it, even if only to pay for the cleaning of the seat that Coke sat in.