LESS than 48 hours after some residents of Grants Pen in St Andrew mounted fiery roadblocks to protest the fatal shooting of a man by the police and warned that they would no longer trust the cops, it was a different vibes in the area on Friday.

In the spirit of unity, residents and members of the police force came together on Labour Day to work on projects to beautify the community.

Activities included repainting the exterior and interior walls of the Grants Pen Police Station, painting the grid in the vicinity of the station, and cleaning and landscaping of the peace garden, which is a critical symbol of partnership and cooperation.

Member of Parliament for the area Delroy Chuck said the Labour Day activity was a positive step forward in building stronger police-citizen relations.

“I am happy to see the significant turnout of the young and old, who just want to clean up their community. The spirit in north-east St Andrew, especially in the Barbican, Sandy Park, Liguanea and Grants Pen area, is really heart-warming for me,” Chuck told JIS News.

In the meantime commanding officer of the Grants Pen Police Station Inspector Levan Gordon said the continued partnership between law enforcement officers and community members is essential in promoting mutual understanding, respect and trust to ensure peace and harmony in the community.

“We will not break the partnership. People will have disagreements and we accept that and listen to their cries and explain the situation; we do not separate ourselves; we are not enemies,” said Gordon as he underscored that, “If an operation is carried out and there is a disagreement, the police will continue to partner with the community to resolve the issue”.