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A search that went horribly wrong
Friends of Keith Clarke say security forces killed him in cold blood
BY HG HELPS Editor-at-Large Investigative Coverage Unit
Sunday, May 30, 2010
AS a boy, Keith Clarke often boasted to his friends that he got the perfect initials that would allow him to function like a king at his high school of choice.
His dream came true in 1959 when he was successful in entering Kingston College in second form and realise a dream that the real KC (Keith Clarke) had gone to the only true KC (Kingston College).
That dream journeyed through the halls of reality and Clarke was soon to achieve another lifelong ambition of becoming a chartered accountant.
Now, all of that has gone up in smoke, as a result of bullets from the guns of members of Jamaica's security forces, who shot Clarke dead while searching for alleged drug lord Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, across sections of the Jamaica capital, which has been marked by violent confrontation and major loss of life in a week of fighting.
Police figures point to 76 deaths -- 73 civilians, most of whom were killed in Tivoli Gardens, and three members of the security forces. Others claim that the death toll is much higher.
Clarke, 63, was gunned down in his Kirkland Heights home early last Thursday morning. The community is home to some of the shining lights of the Jamaican upper middle-class and upper-class.
So when the sound of a helicopter hovering overhead, with searchlights at their brightest trained on some houses and the sound of sporadic gunfire permeating the air all happened virtually at once, the people of the area became alarmed.
It was a lead-up to what Clarke's relatives believed to be the making of the movie they have titled: 'The killing of Keith Clarke'.
Clarke, a licensed firearm holder, was at home with his wife and daughter and would have been apprehensive over the rustling occurring outside. Prior to that, thieves had tried to break into the same house. This time, something had to give.
"The family members heard a commotion outside and all three woke up almost at the same time," one source close to the family told the Sunday Observer on condition of anonymity.
"People were outside trying to break off the grille. The family did not know who was outside and the last thing they felt was that it would be the security forces, as no one shouted out anything, or identified themselves.
"Keith told his family that 'look, I can't let them kill you without a fight, go into the bathroom and stay'," said the source.
What occurred soon after, completed another segment of the movie.
"The men came into the house and at that time the family members saw that hey were members of the security forces," the source continued.
"One flicked on the lights and shouted out, 'whey the gunman dey?' By that time, Clarke's wife shouted out 'there are no gunmen here. I am here with my husband and my daughter.'"
The security personnel were soon given the whereabouts of Keith Clarke, who was tucked away in a bedroom. The lights went out and almost immediately Clarke's life went with it. A series of bullets sprayed into the room left him motionless... forever.
An early report by the police that four members of the security forces were injured is being sternly challenged by the family.
"Not a single shot was fired by Keith," an individual close to the family said.
"This is just another case of cold-blooded murder. He did not get a chance to shoot. I am sure that when the ballistics tests are done, they will prove that not a single shot came from the gun that Keith owned, unless the police are going to make things up to force people into thinking that there was a shootout," the individual said.
Police Commissioner Owen Ellington ordered a "thorough" probe into the circumstances that led to Clarke's death, as rumours continue to fly that police intelligence pointed security personnel to the area where they believed that Coke was hiding.
Coke's close friend, confidante and business associate, Justin O'Gilvie, owns a house close to Clarke's. O'Gilvie, who is wanted by police, has so far not heeded a police appeal to turn himself in, the constabulary said yesterday.
Friends of the deceased suggest that the security forces thought that someone ran from O'Gilvie's house into Clarke's and was hiding there.
"It was clear that they thought that it was either O'Gilvie or 'Dudus' and they did not want to take the person in alive," one friend said.
"It was a scene that went horribly wrong. It should never have happened," another added.
Last night, another family friend told the Sunday Observer that the outside walls of Clarke's house was riddled with bullets.
Ellington said that head of the Bureau of Special Investigations Granville Gauze would lead the investigations, which the family hopes will lead to Clarke's vindication.
Asked by journalists about the matter, Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police Glenmore Hinds said:
"The matter is now the subject of an investigation by the Bureau of Special Investigations and I am constrained to say nothing more at this time."
However, from all accounts, the security personnel got the wrong man at the end of a lengthy period of gunfire.
"He was innocent, and the police cannot even come out and admit that it was a case of mistaken identity," another family member was heard telling a friend.
For now, no amount of financial compensation that the State may be prepared to offer can cover the cost of the grief that members of the Clarke family are feeling.
Keith was the brother of two other prominent KC old boys, who have served Jamaica with distinction.
Elder brother Neville was an Appeal Court judge at the time of his death a few years ago, while Claude was a minister of industry and commerce in a previous People's National Party administration led by former Prime Minister Michael Manley.
Keith worked before with Claude at Highgate Foods, a chocolate-producing company in Highgate, St Mary that eventually went into receivership. Keith was the financial director. Later on he became a partner in the accounting firm Capleton, Jones and Company.
He lived at his Kirkland Heights home for over 30 years.
Close friends Clive Savage and Charlie Grant, who both went to school and grew up with him, reflected on his untimely death.
"We went to primary school at Swallowfield together and ended up at KC. We also studied accounting together and always met up over the years, especially at a particular location in Red Hills," Savage said.
"He was a quiet fellow who loved his accounting and I have no reason to believe that he would have been involved in anything untoward. To my mind, it is difficult to understand how the people who take the oath of office to serve, assure and protect could have so callously snuff out the life of such a hard-working person.
"Right now, if someone comes to my house and tries the lock, I get nervous immediately, because it could happen to anyone of us. There was no doubt that there was a murderous intention in heir hearts and this comes even after his wife called out to them and told them that her husband was no gunman," Savage said.
Grant, one of Clarke's team members on the Molynes United side that competed in the Kingston and St Andrew football lower division for the Syd Bartlett trophy years ago, could hardly hold back his emotion when the Sunday Observer spoke with him.
"Keith was a family man, a community man, a man who was always willing to give advice, a stickler for detail almost to the point of being a disciplinarian," Grant said.
"We grew up in the Hagley Park area of Kingston and one thing that I remember is that he and his brothers Claude and Tony were among the first persons to own Adidas brand football boots when they first came to Jamaica," Grant said.
Yesterday, the police force issued a news release stating that investigations "were progressing well".
"The heads of the security forces express deep regret at the loss of lives since the commencement of the operation aimed at capturing fugitive Christopher Coke and to repel orchestrated criminal attacks against the security forces," the constabulary said.
"The conduct of the entire operation in East Kirkland Heights is being reviewed and security personnel involved in the incident have been withdrawn from frontline duties.
"The Police High Command wishes to assure the family, relatives, friends and colleagues of Mr Clarke, and the entire nation that a swift, thorough and professional investigation will be conducted into the matter, so that the truth will be exposed and appropriate action taken."
Friends of Keith Clarke say security forces killed him in cold blood
BY HG HELPS Editor-at-Large Investigative Coverage Unit
Sunday, May 30, 2010
AS a boy, Keith Clarke often boasted to his friends that he got the perfect initials that would allow him to function like a king at his high school of choice.
His dream came true in 1959 when he was successful in entering Kingston College in second form and realise a dream that the real KC (Keith Clarke) had gone to the only true KC (Kingston College).
That dream journeyed through the halls of reality and Clarke was soon to achieve another lifelong ambition of becoming a chartered accountant.
Now, all of that has gone up in smoke, as a result of bullets from the guns of members of Jamaica's security forces, who shot Clarke dead while searching for alleged drug lord Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, across sections of the Jamaica capital, which has been marked by violent confrontation and major loss of life in a week of fighting.
Police figures point to 76 deaths -- 73 civilians, most of whom were killed in Tivoli Gardens, and three members of the security forces. Others claim that the death toll is much higher.
Clarke, 63, was gunned down in his Kirkland Heights home early last Thursday morning. The community is home to some of the shining lights of the Jamaican upper middle-class and upper-class.
So when the sound of a helicopter hovering overhead, with searchlights at their brightest trained on some houses and the sound of sporadic gunfire permeating the air all happened virtually at once, the people of the area became alarmed.
It was a lead-up to what Clarke's relatives believed to be the making of the movie they have titled: 'The killing of Keith Clarke'.
Clarke, a licensed firearm holder, was at home with his wife and daughter and would have been apprehensive over the rustling occurring outside. Prior to that, thieves had tried to break into the same house. This time, something had to give.
"The family members heard a commotion outside and all three woke up almost at the same time," one source close to the family told the Sunday Observer on condition of anonymity.
"People were outside trying to break off the grille. The family did not know who was outside and the last thing they felt was that it would be the security forces, as no one shouted out anything, or identified themselves.
"Keith told his family that 'look, I can't let them kill you without a fight, go into the bathroom and stay'," said the source.
What occurred soon after, completed another segment of the movie.
"The men came into the house and at that time the family members saw that hey were members of the security forces," the source continued.
"One flicked on the lights and shouted out, 'whey the gunman dey?' By that time, Clarke's wife shouted out 'there are no gunmen here. I am here with my husband and my daughter.'"
The security personnel were soon given the whereabouts of Keith Clarke, who was tucked away in a bedroom. The lights went out and almost immediately Clarke's life went with it. A series of bullets sprayed into the room left him motionless... forever.
An early report by the police that four members of the security forces were injured is being sternly challenged by the family.
"Not a single shot was fired by Keith," an individual close to the family said.
"This is just another case of cold-blooded murder. He did not get a chance to shoot. I am sure that when the ballistics tests are done, they will prove that not a single shot came from the gun that Keith owned, unless the police are going to make things up to force people into thinking that there was a shootout," the individual said.
Police Commissioner Owen Ellington ordered a "thorough" probe into the circumstances that led to Clarke's death, as rumours continue to fly that police intelligence pointed security personnel to the area where they believed that Coke was hiding.
Coke's close friend, confidante and business associate, Justin O'Gilvie, owns a house close to Clarke's. O'Gilvie, who is wanted by police, has so far not heeded a police appeal to turn himself in, the constabulary said yesterday.
Friends of the deceased suggest that the security forces thought that someone ran from O'Gilvie's house into Clarke's and was hiding there.
"It was clear that they thought that it was either O'Gilvie or 'Dudus' and they did not want to take the person in alive," one friend said.
"It was a scene that went horribly wrong. It should never have happened," another added.
Last night, another family friend told the Sunday Observer that the outside walls of Clarke's house was riddled with bullets.
Ellington said that head of the Bureau of Special Investigations Granville Gauze would lead the investigations, which the family hopes will lead to Clarke's vindication.
Asked by journalists about the matter, Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police Glenmore Hinds said:
"The matter is now the subject of an investigation by the Bureau of Special Investigations and I am constrained to say nothing more at this time."
However, from all accounts, the security personnel got the wrong man at the end of a lengthy period of gunfire.
"He was innocent, and the police cannot even come out and admit that it was a case of mistaken identity," another family member was heard telling a friend.
For now, no amount of financial compensation that the State may be prepared to offer can cover the cost of the grief that members of the Clarke family are feeling.
Keith was the brother of two other prominent KC old boys, who have served Jamaica with distinction.
Elder brother Neville was an Appeal Court judge at the time of his death a few years ago, while Claude was a minister of industry and commerce in a previous People's National Party administration led by former Prime Minister Michael Manley.
Keith worked before with Claude at Highgate Foods, a chocolate-producing company in Highgate, St Mary that eventually went into receivership. Keith was the financial director. Later on he became a partner in the accounting firm Capleton, Jones and Company.
He lived at his Kirkland Heights home for over 30 years.
Close friends Clive Savage and Charlie Grant, who both went to school and grew up with him, reflected on his untimely death.
"We went to primary school at Swallowfield together and ended up at KC. We also studied accounting together and always met up over the years, especially at a particular location in Red Hills," Savage said.
"He was a quiet fellow who loved his accounting and I have no reason to believe that he would have been involved in anything untoward. To my mind, it is difficult to understand how the people who take the oath of office to serve, assure and protect could have so callously snuff out the life of such a hard-working person.
"Right now, if someone comes to my house and tries the lock, I get nervous immediately, because it could happen to anyone of us. There was no doubt that there was a murderous intention in heir hearts and this comes even after his wife called out to them and told them that her husband was no gunman," Savage said.
Grant, one of Clarke's team members on the Molynes United side that competed in the Kingston and St Andrew football lower division for the Syd Bartlett trophy years ago, could hardly hold back his emotion when the Sunday Observer spoke with him.
"Keith was a family man, a community man, a man who was always willing to give advice, a stickler for detail almost to the point of being a disciplinarian," Grant said.
"We grew up in the Hagley Park area of Kingston and one thing that I remember is that he and his brothers Claude and Tony were among the first persons to own Adidas brand football boots when they first came to Jamaica," Grant said.
Yesterday, the police force issued a news release stating that investigations "were progressing well".
"The heads of the security forces express deep regret at the loss of lives since the commencement of the operation aimed at capturing fugitive Christopher Coke and to repel orchestrated criminal attacks against the security forces," the constabulary said.
"The conduct of the entire operation in East Kirkland Heights is being reviewed and security personnel involved in the incident have been withdrawn from frontline duties.
"The Police High Command wishes to assure the family, relatives, friends and colleagues of Mr Clarke, and the entire nation that a swift, thorough and professional investigation will be conducted into the matter, so that the truth will be exposed and appropriate action taken."
