ST MARY, Jamaica — A section of the Port Maria main road in St Mary, was temporarily blocked Friday afternoon by angry taxi operators protesting the shooting of one of their colleagues.

A police source told OBSERVER ONLINE that the shooting occurred while Transport Authority employees were conducting operations at the Hi-Lo plaza in Port Maria.

According to the police source, a member of the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEB) approached a taxi operator known as “Rampa” who plies the Port Maria to Kingston route. It is unclear what transpired between the men but it is said that the taxi operator held onto the policeman’s hand and drove quite a distance with him being forced to run alongside the car. It is said that the cop discharged his service revolver in a bid to get the cabbie to stop his car.

The taxi operator received injuries to his upper body. He drove himself to the Port Maria Hospital where he received treatment. The policeman was also taken to the same hospital by his colleagues and also received treatment.

The incident resulted in taxi operators plying the Annotto Bay to Port Maria route withdrawing their service, leaving many commuters stranded from about 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm as they did back-to-school shopping. Firefighters helped extinguish and clean up debris that was strewn on the road and set ablaze.