WATCH: Cops show restraint in armed confrontation
KINGSTON, Jamaica— Social media users today praised two cops who seemed to exercise incredible restraint during an altercation with a man armed with a machete which was captured on camera.
In a video, which was widely circulated on social media, a man armed with a machete is seen attacking the occupants of an unmarked Toyota Voxy station wagon car parked in the vicinity of a gas station. Then shots rang out, piercing the windscreen of the car, and the man was seen hightailing it from the scene. He ran into the middle of the road forcing two taxis to come to halt.
Two uniformed police officers got out of the car and trained their weapons at the man who was retreating rapidly. The man then placed the machete on the road, and continued to flee. The policemen did not appear to pursue him.
The police’s Corporate Communications Unit was not aware of the incident and was unsure why no arrest had been made in connection to the incident. It is not known if the man is of unsound mind.
There have been a number of high-profile altercations between members of the public and individuals with mental issues recently, some of which have ended tragically.
In March this year, angry citizens in May Pen, Clarendon, attacked and killed a man who is reportedly of unsound mind, after he stabbed two men during an altercation.
Also in March this year, a 13-year-old Clarendon student was stabbed to death at the Morant Housing Scheme in the parish. The student’s 22-year-old uncle, who is suspected to be of unsound mind, was taken into custody in relation to the murder.
And in September last year, detective Constable Paul Gordon was killed during an unprovoked attack by a man believed to be of unsound mind. The incident reportedly happened as he walked along King Street, in the vicinity of Sinclair’s Bargain Centre, Linstead in St Catherine. The man was gunned down a few hours later.
In October 2021, a homeless man was beheaded by a man of unsound mind before daylight close to the St Ann’s Bay Transportation Centre. The attacker, who was identified by the alias ‘Soljie’, was later fatally shot by the police after he reportedly attacked a member of a police team which had arrived to conduct investigations.
In November 2021, Khaleel Bent, a man believed to be of unsound mind, who allegedly murdered his 46-year-old mother in Greater Portmore, St Catherine, was fatally shot after going on a rampage in which he attacked security guards and hijacked a motor vehicle.