Tweet
Barbaric! - cops arrested for killing unarmed man
Shocking video shows residents cheering on cops
Sunday, August 01, 2010
OCHO RIOS, St Ann – A shocking scene caught on video and showing citizens
cheering on three cops who were later arrested for beating and shooting a man to death, has drawn outrage.
Public Defender Earl Witter yesterday shouted “barbarism!” and the Police Federation hurled “abominable” at the cops who received an open show of support from residents of Buckfield in St Ann, for Thursday night's killing of Ian 'Ching Sing' Lloyd.
Minister of National Security Senator Dwight Nelson reacted with "disappointment and sorrow" at the news that an unarmed man was beaten and shot to death by a police party after he was subdued.
A private citizen videotaped the scene in which the cops rained blows on the man as he lay defenceless on the ground.
"Lethal force is a last resort. Was that a last resort? What patently the videography appears to portray is barbarism of the first and worst kind, and ironically, the support for it which appears to have come from citizens represents their endorsement of barbarism," Witter said.
In the video released to the news media, the police were heard getting verbal backing from onlookers who clamoured for the man to face vigilante justice.
The arrest of the officers, ordered by Police Commissioner Owen Ellington, who was also outraged, sparked a short-lived protest outside the police station in Ocho Rios where the lawmen were being held yesterday.
A group of about 25 residents who said they were against the arrest of the policemen, converged on the gates of the police station calling for the cops to be released.
"Where was the BSI when 'Ching Sing' a stab up and a bruk down people shops and homes? The video only show a little part a what go on. Why dem never video how him attack the woman and stab her up and how him mek after other people," said an angry man, who claimed he narrowly escaped the wrath of 'Ching Sing'.
The police said they went to apprehend Lloyd after he reportedly attacked Lovida Wilson with a knife, stabbing her multiple times in the neck, in her yard at Old Buckfield. She died on the spot. He reportedly attacked two other persons, injuring one of them.
"The man mek after me, too, after him stab up the woman and me have to jump a wall and cut up the whole a me foot. A whole heap a wrongs that youth do and the only time we have little peace ah when him deh a prison."
Residents said 'Ching Sing' had only returned from prison about two weeks ago after being convicted on house breaking and larceny charges. He was imprisoned for 18 months. They claim on several occasions 'Ching Sing' was caught red-handed breaking into people's houses and businesses.
"A lot a time he broke into shops in the market; he was no saint. It's just unfortunate that the police shoot him that way, still, but a whole heap a people him mek suffer and if the police never shoot him, he woulda stab them up and all kill one a them," a woman, who claimed she was on the scene, told the Sunday Observer.
Residents claim the man had stabbed at the police several times with a piece of broken bottle he had in his hand. They said he was shot after he threw the bottle at the police.
But, despite the claims by the residents and support for the police, the dead man's sister Opal believes her brother should have had his day in court. She claimed the police had always been after him and that he was shot once before in his leg by cops.
"Regardless of what he did, yes, me admit that him shouldn't stab up the woman and kill her, but the police dem wicked too. Dem should carry him in and make the law decide; if him fi go a prison and dead in prison, make him go prison and dead there, don't kill him."
Opal said her family was traumatised by the video footage which showed the inhumane manner in which their relative was dealt with by the police.
Public Defender Witter said the incident brought into sharp focus the abuse of the Constabulary's use of force and use of firearms policy. He said his office had requested a copy of the video footage from the police as it intends to launch a probe into the incident.
Witter also made it clear that despite the revealing footage the cops involved should be treated fairly.
"They are not to be condemned by public opinion or talk show hosts or people on their verandahs. They must be given their day in court, which ironically, the dead man wasn't," he said.
Head of the Police Federation Sergeant Raymond Wilson also hit out at the actions of his colleagues, describing them as "abominable".
"Speedy actions must be taken to deal with the officers whose actions have undermined and crippled the institution of the Jamaica Constabulary Force," Wilson said in a release yesterday. "Members who engage in such acts against humanity will not be sheltered by the Police Federation."
Meanwhile, executive director for Jamaicans for Justice, Carolyn Gomes, said she was not surprised at the behaviour of the police and said the incident demonstrated the level of brutality by the security forces that her group had been highlighting for the past 11 years.
And the National Democratic Movement, in a release, commended what it said was the quick and decisive action of the commissioner in ordering the arrest of the policemen involved.
Security Minister Nelson also hailed the courage of the citizen who videotaped the incident.
"This is the refreshing kind of courage and positive attitude that we have been encouraging to bring the lawless in and out of the Jamaica Constabulary Force to book," he stressed.
The minister also welcomed news that Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington has instructed that the policemen involved in the incident be apprehended.
"Let the chips fall where they may," declared Senator Nelson.
Shocking video shows residents cheering on cops
Sunday, August 01, 2010
OCHO RIOS, St Ann – A shocking scene caught on video and showing citizens
cheering on three cops who were later arrested for beating and shooting a man to death, has drawn outrage.
Public Defender Earl Witter yesterday shouted “barbarism!” and the Police Federation hurled “abominable” at the cops who received an open show of support from residents of Buckfield in St Ann, for Thursday night's killing of Ian 'Ching Sing' Lloyd.
Minister of National Security Senator Dwight Nelson reacted with "disappointment and sorrow" at the news that an unarmed man was beaten and shot to death by a police party after he was subdued.
A private citizen videotaped the scene in which the cops rained blows on the man as he lay defenceless on the ground.
"Lethal force is a last resort. Was that a last resort? What patently the videography appears to portray is barbarism of the first and worst kind, and ironically, the support for it which appears to have come from citizens represents their endorsement of barbarism," Witter said.
In the video released to the news media, the police were heard getting verbal backing from onlookers who clamoured for the man to face vigilante justice.
The arrest of the officers, ordered by Police Commissioner Owen Ellington, who was also outraged, sparked a short-lived protest outside the police station in Ocho Rios where the lawmen were being held yesterday.
A group of about 25 residents who said they were against the arrest of the policemen, converged on the gates of the police station calling for the cops to be released.
"Where was the BSI when 'Ching Sing' a stab up and a bruk down people shops and homes? The video only show a little part a what go on. Why dem never video how him attack the woman and stab her up and how him mek after other people," said an angry man, who claimed he narrowly escaped the wrath of 'Ching Sing'.
The police said they went to apprehend Lloyd after he reportedly attacked Lovida Wilson with a knife, stabbing her multiple times in the neck, in her yard at Old Buckfield. She died on the spot. He reportedly attacked two other persons, injuring one of them.
"The man mek after me, too, after him stab up the woman and me have to jump a wall and cut up the whole a me foot. A whole heap a wrongs that youth do and the only time we have little peace ah when him deh a prison."
Residents said 'Ching Sing' had only returned from prison about two weeks ago after being convicted on house breaking and larceny charges. He was imprisoned for 18 months. They claim on several occasions 'Ching Sing' was caught red-handed breaking into people's houses and businesses.
"A lot a time he broke into shops in the market; he was no saint. It's just unfortunate that the police shoot him that way, still, but a whole heap a people him mek suffer and if the police never shoot him, he woulda stab them up and all kill one a them," a woman, who claimed she was on the scene, told the Sunday Observer.
Residents claim the man had stabbed at the police several times with a piece of broken bottle he had in his hand. They said he was shot after he threw the bottle at the police.
But, despite the claims by the residents and support for the police, the dead man's sister Opal believes her brother should have had his day in court. She claimed the police had always been after him and that he was shot once before in his leg by cops.
"Regardless of what he did, yes, me admit that him shouldn't stab up the woman and kill her, but the police dem wicked too. Dem should carry him in and make the law decide; if him fi go a prison and dead in prison, make him go prison and dead there, don't kill him."
Opal said her family was traumatised by the video footage which showed the inhumane manner in which their relative was dealt with by the police.
Public Defender Witter said the incident brought into sharp focus the abuse of the Constabulary's use of force and use of firearms policy. He said his office had requested a copy of the video footage from the police as it intends to launch a probe into the incident.
Witter also made it clear that despite the revealing footage the cops involved should be treated fairly.
"They are not to be condemned by public opinion or talk show hosts or people on their verandahs. They must be given their day in court, which ironically, the dead man wasn't," he said.
Head of the Police Federation Sergeant Raymond Wilson also hit out at the actions of his colleagues, describing them as "abominable".
"Speedy actions must be taken to deal with the officers whose actions have undermined and crippled the institution of the Jamaica Constabulary Force," Wilson said in a release yesterday. "Members who engage in such acts against humanity will not be sheltered by the Police Federation."
Meanwhile, executive director for Jamaicans for Justice, Carolyn Gomes, said she was not surprised at the behaviour of the police and said the incident demonstrated the level of brutality by the security forces that her group had been highlighting for the past 11 years.
And the National Democratic Movement, in a release, commended what it said was the quick and decisive action of the commissioner in ordering the arrest of the policemen involved.
Security Minister Nelson also hailed the courage of the citizen who videotaped the incident.
"This is the refreshing kind of courage and positive attitude that we have been encouraging to bring the lawless in and out of the Jamaica Constabulary Force to book," he stressed.
The minister also welcomed news that Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington has instructed that the policemen involved in the incident be apprehended.
"Let the chips fall where they may," declared Senator Nelson.
Comment