March 11, 2001
 

JAMAICANS UNITED AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY 

What we want: (1) A coroner's court to hear ALL cases of police killings. (2) A revitalized Police Public Complaints Authority employing professional investigators to investigate  police killings. (At the present moment there are only four investigators, three in Kingston, one of whom is not provided with a car!  140 cases of police killings per year could never be investigated by four people). (3) Non-police weapons must be inventoried to prevent police planting weapons on their victims. (4) We reserve the right to call for a boycott of tourism if the government continues to be deaf, dumb and blind to police killings. 

 LETTER FROM DWIGHT SANGSTER, MEMBER OF JAMAICANS FOR JUSTICE 

Your articles are usually well written, though I must say that it seems hardly fair to vilify the "tourism moguls" as being the ones responsible for the phenomena which is delineated in your otherwise sensible argument. If it is your intention to gain and keep the goodwill and support of well-meaning persons to aid your most noble endeavours, that is to say, to reduce as far as is possible the excesses of the Jamaican Police with a view to subjugating the police to the rule of law, I suggest that you refrain from personal attacks such as the one that appears in the email I have received over the signature of Mr. Lloyd D'Aguilar. 

While I hold no brief for  the good Mr Butch Stewart, should he have uttered the words attributed to him in the article, I should still contend that such a segue were better argued in, perhaps, a letter to the editor of the Observer (which I suspect Mr Stewart reads on occasion) and The Gleaner. This would afford Mr Stewart the opportunity of replying to your remarks. 

To return to my original  point, while it may be argued that there is merit in your argument and  reasoning, such discourse properly belongs elsewhere, in my humble opinion,  and I would rather that an excellent organization such as yours focus on matters more intimately related to your stated objective of eliminating the abuse of state power as is manifested in the form of the Jamaica Constabulary Force. 

I suggest one such avenue that you may undertake in this regard. Attend as many Coroners Inquests where the family of victims allege murder against the police. These are open to the public, and I have been reliably informed of apparent institutionalised corruption which occurs there, such as jury rigging, and the evident camaraderie that exists between the examiners and the police, so as to render a verdict against the police almost impossible, and statistics bear this out. 

The public needs to be made aware of all that transpires at these inquests and should be encouraged to go. The next such case will be on Tuesday, March 6 at 10.00 am at the courthouse on Sutton Street at the Coroners Inquest into the death of Patrick Genius. Regards, Dwight Sangster Member Jamaicans for Justice

JUAPB RESPONSE TO DWIGHT SANGSTER 

Dear Dwight, I beg to disagree that there is any vilification in mentioning (1) the disproportionate resources controlled by so-called tourism moguls; (2) they bear responsibility for the resort police who  abuse Jamaican citizens going about their lawful business; (3) Butch Stewart, one of the premier tourism moguls, heavily subsidized by the state,  has used his influence over the government to reinforce the brutal police methods employed by state; (4) if Butch Stewart is prepared to boycott Jamaica if he doesn't get his way with the government, why should we be condemned for raising the possibility of using the same tactics to end police killings?; and (5) since both Stewart and Issa have been silent about the Public Defender's call for a meager $2 billion to revitalize the inner cities doesn't this raise questions about their apparent  indifference to  the connection between crime and poverty, or, to their preoccupation with narrow self-interests?. 

You write that we should concentrate on our "stated objective of eliminating the abuse of state power as is manifested in the form of the Jamaica Constabulary Force."   That is exactly what we are doing. However, you seem not to  understand  that the   police force was created to defend the property interests of the ruling class and thus the close interconnection between the two. 

Police brutality is entirely directed  towards the poor and no one can argue that this is not state policy. The fact that tourism plays a disproportionate role in the economy is the very reason why people such as Butch Stewart feel it necessary to flaunt their power and seek to determine how the police should be deployed in protecting their interests.  The recent wave of police terror unleashed upon the people is a direct  result of business people demanding that the prime minister get tough with crime.  How then is it possible to talk about eliminating police abuse without examining how and why the police is deployed in the way it is? 

We certainly agree with you that the criminal justice system is corrupt but it is also biased against the poor and seeks in every way to protect the interests of the state.   One of our demands is that EVERY case of police killing should AUTOMATICALLY be brought before a Coroner's court.  We are not unaware, however,  that this court, as presently constituted,  is a merely a legal formality for exonerating  the police and perpetuating the policy of killing with impunity. 

You mention  "jury rigging, and the evident camaraderie that exists between the examiners and the police" but it is also apparent that the state prosecutor (clerk of courts) merely goes through the motion of presenting the police "facts" of the case and if the victim's family is not represented by counsel (as they usually are not)  there is no real challenge to the lies of the police.  This is a serious indictment of the system and is one of the reasons why the police have no need to cover their tracks when they kill. All is required is to make the obligatory claim of a shootout! We therefore welcome a discussion on how to reform the Coroner's Court. 

Finally, we are not in any worried that in sticking to the truth and the facts that we will lose the goodwill and support of people who believe in what we are doing to expose police brutality.  Of course there are those who are unable or refuse  to see the connection between social inequities and police brutality.  Such people usually get swept aside in the forward march of history and we are sure that the Jamaica situation will be no exception. 

Lloyd D'Aguilar Coordinator Jamaicans United Against Police Brutality 

$2m reward for cop killers 

"THE JAMAICA Constabulary is offering a reward of $2 million for information leading to the arrest of the killers of four policemen in separate incidents during the last two and half months. 

In a news release yesterday, Commissioner Francis Forbes said while the deaths of policemen form only a fraction of the overall murder statistics, these should not be minimised. 

"It must be understood that the killing of law enforcement officers in the lawful execution of their duties represents a blatant attack on the state and a disregard for the forces of law and order," the Commissioner said. 

THE POLICE COMMISSIONER HAS NEVER COMMENTED ON OR COMMITTED HIMSELF TO PROSECUTION OF POLICEMEN, WHO REPRESENTING THE STATE, COMMIT BLATANT MURDER AGAINST ORDINARY CITIZENS. CRIMINALS WHO COMMIT MURDER AGAINST POLICE REPRESENT THEMSELVES, BUT WHEN THE POLICE KILL ORDINARY CITIZENS THEY NOT ONLY REPRESENT THE STATE BUT THEY VIOLATE THE TRUST OF CITIZENS  WHO BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE THERE TO PROTECT THEM.  THESE  ARE  CRIMES FOR WHICH THE POLICE COMMISSIONER AS HEAD OF THE FORCE MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE. 

"Howard Hamilton, Q.C., the Public Defender, says the murder of the five policemen have brought into sharp focus the perils of their profession that they face daily. 

"It is against this background, at the request of the Police Federation, that I have written to the honourable Minister of National Security to support, as a matter of urgency, the request of 5,000 bullet-proof vests to be immediately dealt with," Mr. Hamilton said." 

MR. HAMILTON SINCE HIS APPOINTMENT AS PUBLIC DEFENDER HAS BEEN SILENT ABOUT POLICE KILLINGS AND HAS MADE NO PROPOSALS ABOUT HOW TO DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM! WE WONDER WHY? 

Coroner's  Inquest into death of  19 YEAR OLD KILLED BY POLICE 

THE DIRECTOR of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has ordered a coroner's inquest into the death of 19-year-old Ricardo 'Rico' Stewart, who was allegedly shot dead by a policeman in Green Island, Hanover six months ago. 

Inspector Duane Wellington, head of administration at the Bureau of Special Investigations said the ruling was made two weeks ago and the case file sent to the Area One Headquarters which will pass it on to the local police. 

"Usually, when there's not sufficient evidence in a matter to press criminal charges, the DPP will send it to the coroner's court for them (the jury) to decide the outcome," said Inspector Wellington." 

INSPECTOR WILLIAMS HAS ALREADY PREJUDGED THAT THERE IS NOT SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO PRESS CRIMINAL CHARGES. IF THIS IS  A CORRECT INDICATOR OF HOW THE DPP FEELS ABOUT THE MATTER THEN IT IS HARDLY LIKELY THAT HIS REPRESENTATIVE IN COURT WILL TRY VERY HARD FOR AN INDICTMENT.  IT IS THEREFORE A FOREGONE CONCLUSION THAT IF RICARDO STEWART'S MOTHER DOES NOT HAVE MONEY TO HIRE A LAWYER THE POLICEMAN WILL BE EXONERATED. 

THE ACCOUNT OF HOW RICARDO MET HIS DEATH MAKES FOR INTERESTING READING. 

"The allegations are that on August 25, about 5:30 a.m., a police party of six, including Stewart's step-father, District Constable Neville Campbell, went to Stewart's home and attempted to wake him. When he did not respond they sought the assistance of his mother, Joycelyn Guthrie. 

Miss Guthrie later said she woke 'Rico' and, as she walked away, an explosion was heard. She said when she rushed to the bedroom she saw blood coming from his chest. The police reported 'Rico' attacked a member of the party with a machete and he was shot. 

[RICO WAS OBVIOUSLY QUITE SUICIDAL FOR PULLING A MACHETE IN THE FACE OF SIX! HEAVILY ARMED POLICEMEN. BUT THIS IS NOT STRANGE WITH THOUSANDS OF SIMILARLY SUICIDAL YOUNG MEN  BEING KILLED FOR CHALLENGING HEAVILY ARMED POLICEMEN.] 

The shooting sparked a demonstration by about 300 residents resulting in the injury of a police corporal, damage to two service vehicles and the main road being blocked for several hours. 

The residents, who claimed Stewart was killed in cold blood, said Stewart's mother and D/C Campbell had a 17-year relationship and for sometime were involved in frequent domestic disputes. On August 24, the couple had a fight when 'Rico' intervened and chided D/C Campbell for hitting his mother. 

The residents accused Mr. Campbell of leading the police party to the house. 

Following the incident, D/C Campbell was transferred from the Green Island Police Station and he was advised by the Hanover Police High Command to remove his personal belongings from the house he shared with Miss Guthrie. 

Constable Liston Brackett, who allegedly fired the fatal bullet and is attached to the Green Island Police Station, was taken off front-line duties pending the outcome of the investigations." 

Radio journalist wins Gleaner's Silver Pen award 

 RADIO JOURNALIST Arthur Hall is January's winner of The Gleaner's prestigious Silver Pen award for his letter of the day titled: "Why I could have stoned police stations". 

The winning letter which received 26 of a possible 30 points, was published on January 26. It spoke of his experiences with the police while growing up in a Kingston inner-city community and explained why he could understand the anger of students of Denham Town Primary School, west Kingston, which led them to throw stones at the police station. 

The students who saw soldiers calling on their principal Everton Jones, thought that he had been detained, and they rained stones on the neighbouring police station for several minutes. 

But, Mr. Hall said that despite his experiences including witnessing his father being "boxed" by a young constable after failing to respond to his command, "Bwoy come yah" and he (Arthur) being rounded up and detained while he was a 16-year-old at Kingston College, he did not condone the action of the students and advocated that they be punished. He said he had come full circle to the point where he has friends who are members of the Jamaica Constabulary, but his views on the police have not changed much. 

"It (the behaviour of the police) hasn't changed. We still have a police force that sees itself as an invading force and people in the inner city still see them as the enemy," Mr. Hall said yesterday. 

Mr. Hall said it was unfortunate that so many members of the JCF were themselves from inner-city communities. He suggested that part of the problem was that "power" was now in the hands of people who for the most part had been "educated to minimal levels". 

The police, according to Mr. Hall would not get any support from inner-city residents in fighting crime until they were made to feel that the police were in their corner. Until such time, the don and the gunman would continue to be seen as saviour, he said. 

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