November 12, 2000
 

JAMAICANS UNITED AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY 

Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams and the Anatomy of a Typical Police Killing. 

 With the complicity of the government, and aided by a deficient criminal justice system, the Jamaican police carry out a policy of executing young men from innercity communities with impunity.  Knowing that they are unlikely to be prosecuted the police care little that there are eyewitnesses to their deadly deeds. All that  is required to secure the protection of the state is to make a claim that they were shot at and that they returned fire killing the victim. End of the matter. There isn't even a curious press to pursue the matter. 

 A graphic example of this pattern of police killings is  this summer's killing of Sylvester Wint by a police party led by Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams. Moments before Wint was killed, an independent videographer recorded Wint pleading with the police and yet the police gave a completely different account from what was captured on tape and played on national television. 

 The Killing of Sylvester Wint – The Background  Sylvester Wint  had recently been released on bail  from jail and as a condition of his release was required to report on a daily basis to the police station.  He had been complying with the conditions of his bail. Wint's demise came about, however, as a result of a police claim that  he was responsible for shooting up a police car and injuring a policeman the previous day.  He was supposedly identified by  a policeman. The police raiding party that went to Wint's  house in the wee hours of the morning was responding to this allegation against him. 

 The fact that Wint felt compelled to shoot up a police car while on bail and even more astounding,  not flee when he should have realized that he was a marked man, was just the beginning of a series of fatal miscalculations  that  seem to suggest that Wint  must have had a death wish. That is, of course, if we are to believe the police. 

 In a bold move the police party was accompanied by an independent cameraman.  It is open to speculation as to why the  cameraman was there, but one thing is certain, he could not have been there without police approval. Superintendent Adams is known to have brought along  a British video crew with him on another supposed crime fighting operation in Eastern Kingston. 

 Tale of the  Video Tape 

 With images of the police moving in on the suspect's house and then the Camera trained on a house with lights on, the following is heard on the tape. 

 Presumed Police Officer's Voice:  Waggie. Waggie. 

 Waggie: Wha officer?   Wha officer?  Tell me noh, wha me do? 

 Waggie's Girlfriend:     .......  Officer me pregnant.  You can't push me you know? 

 Waggie: Officer from whole day me dey in yah a keep party fi me baby mother.  Ah mi daughter  party yesterday.  See it dey?  Whole day  me dey in yah  you know officer?  Girlfriend: Whoa  Whoa  murder.  Waggie: Officer [sounding very desperate]. 

 CVM TV, which broadcasted the cameraman's footage explains that at the point where Waggie's Girlfriend cries out for murder, the camera battery suddenly goes dead, according to the camera man.  The tape then cuts to an  image of the gun purportedly taken from Waggie's body after he was shot. 

 CVM TV then shows its own  report of an  interview with  Waggie's girlfriend. She  tells CVM  that Waggie  "in desperate attempt to hold on to her and the baby" was pulled outside the house and taken to the side of the house where he was executed. A gun was  placed in his hand (obviously to get his fingerprints), and then a q-tip used to place substance on his hand (suggesting that this was some form of gunpowder). The girlfriend also reports that she was assaulted by the police.  "Officer me pregnant.  You can't push me you know?" 

 In his own on the spot report of the killing, Superintendent Adams gives a divergent  account of what happened: "The suspect  ran out with a baby in hand, open fire on the police. We took evasive action and he ran to the side of the house where he ran into a team of policemen and women that was strategically placed. Still discharging his firearm. Police return the fire and he fell seriously injured." 

 Superintendent Adams completely ignores the implications of what Waggie and his Girlfriend are heard saying on the tape.  Indeed, according to CVM TV, he denies that one of his men said "Waggie Waggie" He is not asked and does not comment on why there are no sound of gunshots on the tape.  Nor is he asked to explain why Waggie should suddenly run out of his house, baby in hand, shooting at police when a moment before he was explaining his  whereabouts for the day, and his  girlfriend is heard  protesting  against being pushed by 'officer". Indeed she screams out for murder (none of her words are transcribed by CVM TV) . 

 Despite expressions of nationwide incredulity that a shootout had taken place, especially since the baby was not injured, Superintendent Adams stuck to his story: 

 Superintendent Adams:  "Yes, our deliberate action resulted in the baby not being hurt because like I said before when the man ran out with  the  baby we observed that had we fired at him with the baby in hand the baby would have been injured.  So we at the front never fired at all. It was the time when he ran to the side of the house, throw down the baby that the policemen in that area dealt with that situation." 

 Superintendent Adams  also refuted claims made by Waggie's girlfriend that the  police placed a gun in his hands and dabbed substance on his fingers that resembled gunpowder.  Adams explained  that forensic experts were actually testing his fingers for gunpowder at the time. 

 Superintendent Adams: "This is a transparent policy that we have voluntarily and quite necessarily [implemented].  The society has impressed upon us that we are transparent. Though we generally make sure that this . . .  is tested for gunpowder.  Sometimes it works in their interest, however. There are cases where people's hands have been swat and there's no trace of gunpowder." 

 Superintendent Adams would wants us to believe that he just happened to have the foresight to take along a forensic team with no intention of killing anyone. 

 Adams has since been promoted  to head the Prime Minister's newly created Crime Management Unit, part of an anti-crime initiative recently announced by Prime Minister Patterson. This agency has been given millions of dollars to fight crime and obviously to make Adams feel more comfortable.  Adams responded to the confidence placed in him by being  involved in at least two other questionable killings, and  leading his team to scrape up  young men out of inner city communities. 

 If Adams' behavior  is in anyway typical of the leadership provided by Jamaican police officer corps then it  certainly helps to explain  the high incidence of police homicides.  It is an explanation for the endemic problem of police brutality. The servile behavior of the press as demonstrated by CVM TV in not being more decisive in its reporting (even when  trying to be daring) is part of a contributory factor to the arrogance of the police. But more important, there is no organ of the state machinery willing  to vigorously investigate in such common sense situations.  Hence the Jamaican Police force kill with impunity. 

 They must be stopped now for the sake of us all. 

  Lloyd D'Aguilar
 Coordinator
 Jamaicans United Against Police Brutality

 Sergeant Leroy Steele who was killed by gunmen on October 25 was buried today. 

 Police Commissioner Francis Forbes was shown on TV telling the congregation that Steele's killer was brought to justice swiftly.  However, sources  tell us the following story. 

 Paul Harvey , also known as Greasy, was wanted by the police. He was riding his bicycle in Eastern Kingston when police spotted him and shot at him. 

 He dodged into certain  premises and when the Police followed him a group of men opened gunfire, and Steele was killed. Greasy did not do any of the shooting. 

 He then decided to go to the country to cool out, especially as he was  wanted for Steele's murder. He has no refuge of his own in the country,  so he went to the Spicy Hill Trelawny where his girlfriend has family. 

 Police held Greasy's nephew immediately after the shooting, and kept him  for more than a week trying to get information from him. Sources tell us that  the nephew is now completely traumatized by the unlawful detention. He has a  medical certificate to show that his eardrums burst and bloody fluid  comes from his ears. He also has handcuff burns because he was handcuffed the  whole time he was detained. 

 The sources also  say that Senior police officer  Pusey was at least present at the battering where the nephew's ears were slapped hard and at one time a gun was put to his head. He was released without charge, and has since gone to a lawyer, a doctor, and the complaints authority. 

 Police got information from a taximan who directed them to where Greasy  was hanging out. When Adams and his crew got to the house, Greasy was  sleeping. They told him to put up his hands, took him away, and shot him  in cold blood. 

 The police story is somewhat different. According to them Adams and his posse went to the house at 6.00 am. They knocked on the door and were greeted with gunshots that came from a room in the house. The police then kicked down the door and were fired on by Greasy. 

 The fire was returned, and Greasy was shot and killed. His girlfriend who had gone to Trelawny with him,   was arrested and charged for possession of ammunition after she was found with eight rounds. 

 Although police claim to have cleared up the crime, they are still harassing Greasy's friends to find out who was Leroy Steele's real killer. 
 

Senior Superintendent Adams and police brutality against the McKintyre Villa community 

 Further protests against the tactics being employed by Senior Supt. Reneto Adams erupted in the   McKintyre Villa community in  Kingston.  CVM TV showed young men being loaded into a police vehicle and this  looked very much like net fishing. (Adams has publicly boasted that he would be acting on information and doing spear fishing.) 

 A woman showed where she had been kicked down the stairs of her home. Adams said she threw urine on the police, thereby justifying police behavior. People showed tear gas canisters, as families including children were tear-gassed. The community seemed very angry at the behavior. Adams says he is trying to reduce violence and killings in the area. 

 Meanwhile TVJ showed a report of an instance of police brutality today  in Park Lane, Red Hills Road. A woman said a soldier hit her down after she  told him she could beat him if he didn't have the gun. Police say it's the woman's  fault as she should have gone about her business when they told her to leave  the area!    

Click here to return to Jamaicans United Against Police Brutality homepage.