ST JAMES, Jamaica – Assistant Commissioner of Police, Clifford Chambers, has refuted claims that law enforcers and cronies of a patient who was discharged from the Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James on Tuesday had a confrontation prior to his release.

“Police responded to complaints and upon their arrival the medical team briefed the police after which the police left the location to carry out further enquiries. There was no confrontation between police and any gunman at that location and there was, for that matter, no confrontation between police and family members of the gentleman,” ACP Chambers said.

Chambers also shared that despite new reports that the patient in question has gang affiliations, all information suggests otherwise.

“The gentleman is a former taxi operator and from all indications was never a part of any gang and has never been involved in any confrontation with the police,” he told OBSERVER ONLINE.

“As it is right now, we are looking at the situation to see what next the police can do to intervene in the man’s condition because the medical team are of the view that he has a medical condition and not a spiritual condition,” Chambers added.

Chambers indicated that the hospital staff diagnosed the patient in need of further medical care and that, contrary to the family’s belief, his condition was not spiritual.

“This morning there was a patient who was admitted to the Cornwall Regional Hospital with a medical condition. He was restrained by the medical team based on his behaviour and was being treated. However, his relatives might have been of the view that the issue he was suffering from was not medical but was spiritual and proceeded to release the restraints and became boisterous with the medical team indicating that they want him released from the hospital,” said ACP Chambers. “As a result of that the medical team, I was advised, decided to release the patient in the custody of his mother.”

Reports reaching the OBSERVER ONLINE are that the police were summoned to the hospital after friends and family members of a male patient demanded his release from the facility.

Senior Medical Officer of the hospital, Dr Derek Harvey, stated that the patient required treatment but was discharged against medical advice after his friends demanded that he be sent home.

He added that the hospital staff advised those who came to have the patient discharged that he needed further medical treatment. They were then advised that if they wanted him released, then government protocol would need to be followed.