The Jamaica Observer, as with the rest of the nation, deeply mourns the slaying of Corporal Trevoy Shaw and Constable Devoney Rose, as well as the shooting of a 10-year-old girl and a third police officer in last Friday’s now-infamous Sligoville shoot-out.

At the same time, we have no tears for any gunman taken out by police doing their job and trying to protect the innocent. The spectacular drop in murders is directly related to removal of many of the terrorist gunmen who have held this country hostage for far too long.

Every time a cop is killed in the line of duty it is not merely a loss to the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), but to the entire nation on whose behalf they gave their lives. It is something which all Jamaicans must treat with the utmost seriousness and respect.

As JCF Senior Communication Strategist Senior Superintendent (SSP) Dennis Brooks outlined it to journalists, the shooters held out a child at the door and indicated that they were prepared to surrender. When the police attempted to get to the child, they were shot upon.

“I can confirm that the gunmen sought to utilise a child to effect a false surrender, and that speaks to the very callous nature, the ruthless nature of these people who the police have to deal with,” SSP Brooks said.

He noted that the gunmen fired from behind the child, putting the police in a difficult position as they sought to enter the dwelling while accounting for the presence of a woman and two children, who were subsequently rescued from the house.

When the JCF carries out its inevitable post-mortem of the operation, we know its officers will acknowledge both the successes and missteps associated with the entire hours-long stand-off.

Many of us, civilians, will have our own opinions on how the joint team of security forces brought closure to the gun battle, but the measure and standard rest with the operating procedures of the police and military in such incidents.

No doubt, the JCF should objectively regard it as teachable moment in regard to the quality of training that policemen and women receive before taking on gunmen, who are getting more sophisticated and more equipped to carry out their nefarious activities.

SSP Brooks appears to offer an explanation which needs to be reviewed as to its efficacy.

“On multiple occasions, the gunmen indicated that they were willing to surrender. And it is the intention of the police on every operation to bring persons to justice, to place them before the court,” he said.

“[I]f there is an indication, even the slightest indication, that they are willing to surrender, then we are going to engage that possibility,” he added, noting that the gunmen’s apparent willingness to surrender complicated the operation, as officers had to consider the possibility that the offer was genuine while protecting the civilians.

Making that call was tough, given that three policemen were shot, two of whom died, and the third could also have lost his life.

That, we contend, is much too high a price for the JCF to pay in any operation.