KINGSTON, Jamaica — The road manager for dancehall artiste Skeng has expressed support for disciplinary action being taken against cops found to be involved in a new social media craze that sees uniformed police personnel lip-syncing and dancing to his artiste’s ‘Gvnman Shift’ hit song while brandishing high-powered weapons.

Several cops are in hot water with the high command of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) for their alleged involvement in the social media challenge.

In a virtual press briefing on Wednesday, Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson revealed that the videos were not in keeping with the behaviour expected of members of the JCF and that those involved would face consequences.

 “When you listen to the lyrics of the songs being played in the background of the video, it wasn’t consistent with what we would expect or anyone would expect from our police officers. We also saw that in the videos the police officers had weapons on them, and that’s certainly not the image we would expect of our officers,” Anderson said. 

Anderson, however, did not disclose the number of cops that would face charges.

In an interview with Observer Online on Thursday, Skeng’s road manager, Di Truth, shared that while every Jamaican reserves the right to support dancehall music, which is a major part of the country’s cultural fabric, officers in uniform should know better.

“A just the natural love weh di two female dem have fi di song dem a display. But,  if the law set a certain rule for you to carry out as an officer, yuh affi do that, worst dem inna dem uniform. I think for them to be in their uniform and breaking the rules, it is fair for them to face disciplinary action,” he said.

He added: “If dem did off duty, mi nuh think dem woulda have the Government tool (the guns) like that so dem fully wrong. They are not just representing the law in uniform, but also the country, so dem must face the necessary action the law set fi dem face.”

Skeng’s Gvnman Shift has amassed more than two million views on YouTube in three weeks, making it one of the hottest tracks on the island at present. Di Truth says while the spotlight is now on his artiste, especially in light of the controversy involving the cops, he doesn’t foresee the entertainer having any issues with law enforcement.

“The song is hardcore, but it is just showing what is taking place on a daily basis in the society. The artiste is just telling a story. The aim is to become one of dancehall’s biggest artiste, not a target by the law so we are not worried about that,” he said.

The officers in the videos are set to undergo remedial training if they are to remain in the organisation.