JUNCTION, St Elizabeth — The family of Haile Clacken, who was shot dead by a security guard in Cheapside, Junction, just over a week ago, are expressing satisfaction with a ‘memorial walk’ in his honour on Friday afternoon.

Hundreds of people participated in the one-mile walk from the Junction Police Station to the spot where Clacken died in Cheapside. A rally followed the march.

Organisers said the march wasn’t merely intended to protest what they described as “murder,” but to highlight the need for Jamaicans to change negative attitudes towards the mentally ill and to be far more caring.

Father of the deceased, Balfour Clacken, also emphasised the need for witnesses at suspected crime scenes to come forward and testify so that “justice can be achieved”.

Haile Clacken, 36, a York University honours graduate, former journalist and acclaimed teacher, who was diagnosed many years ago with bipolar disorder (a form of mental illness), died after climbing on to an armoured security truck in Junction.

Eyewitnesses said that the truck travelled for about a mile with Clacken clinging to the roof. When the vehicle eventually stopped, Clacken was shot.

Police have said that up to last Thursday, 10 people claiming to be witnesses had given statements. The police high command in St Elizabeth has appealed to all those who saw what happened to come forward.

Lilieth Clacken, mother of the deceased, told the Jamaica Observer by telephone that the march was just the start of a campaign to heighten awareness of mental illness. She had plans to launch a Bipolar Awareness Programme, she said.

Dr Doreth Garvey, a mental health specialist who treated Haile Clacken, was among those speaking at Friday’s rally. Other speakers included family members, community leaders, Member of Parliament for St Elizabeth South Eastern Frank Witter and MP for Manchester North Western Mikael Phillips.

Balfour Clacken told the Sunday Observer that the incident again highlighted the “worrying” distrust of many ordinary people for the Jamaican police force and the justice system. He spoke of reports of people who claimed to have witnessed the circumstances surrounding his son’s death who were reluctant to come forward.

“It confirms that ordinary citizens don’t trust the justice system and the police… something has to be done about it,” he said.

Lilieth Clacken, a losing candidate for the People’s National Party (PNP) in the 2012 parish council election, said she felt particularly comforted by the support of the people of ‘Chapman’ in Cheapside, a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) stronghold.

“The people of Chapman made me proud to be Jamaican,” she said. She said community members had assured her that trees planted at the spot where her son died would be “watered and nurtured”.