WATCH: Cop fires shots during verbal altercation, says he feared for his life
KINGSTON, Jamaica – A police constable who discharged his gun during a verbal altercation with a man in the Kingston 10 area on Saturday says he did so in fear of his life.
The cop, who is assigned to the Constant Spring Police Station, made the claim in a report he filed regarding the incident, OBSERVER ONLINE understands.
A video of the incident has been making the rounds on social media. It purportedly shows the police officer discharging his firearm several times during a verbal altercation with another male.
See video below. Warning: Viewer discretion is advised.
The incident reportedly happened on Saturday June 25, about 12:00 am on Sawers Road, Kingston 10.
According to reports, the constable drove an unmarked service vehicle and was in the process of parking on the sidewalk when he was approached by a group of men who were standing in close proximity who then started hurling insults at him to the effect of “p——e yu caah park ya so.”
He eventually parked and exited the vehicle, when a male said to him “watch ya police” as he was dressed in plain clothing with marked cloth vest with his regulation numbers clearly displayed on same.
The man in question reportedly “started advancing to (the cop) in a menacing manner”, stating “yu a fool weh yu ago do a gunshot some a uno fi get” and reaching for his waistband.
At this point, the cop reportedly became fearful for his life and pulled his service pistol and discharged three warning shots in the air.
The man reportedly stopped advancing and then continued before the cop, still fearful for his life, discharged two more rounds in the air.
The situation reportedly “did not de-escalate” so the cop drove off to seek assistance.
The firearm was packaged, labelled and sealed and scene processed by an agent of the Independent Commission of investigations (INDECOM. The firearm was later handed over at the armoury for safe keeping pending ballistic testing, according to information reaching OBSERVER ONLINE.