My thoughts on…the rash of police killings in Jamaica
December 6th 2007 -
This year has been an especially trying one for the police force, especially the past few weeks, as 20 police officers have been killed since the start of the year, the most recent one, 55-year old Sergeant Errol Brown, killed last night. Understandably, Jamaicans are very concerned about this. As am I, because if gunmen don’t fear the police, even dragging one out of his vehicle while negotiating a pothole, removing his helmet and shooting him in the head, then what’s to stop them from taking my own life, or anyone else’s for that matter? The religious among us chalk it up to the Last Days, but I think that’s too easy an explanation.
I’m surprised by the level of hypocrisy of the Jamaican people. We hide the gunmen. We even eat and drink and with them, and refuse top volunteer any information (does the Neighbourhood Watch exist anymore?), and glorify violence, but we bawl openly in front of the camera when we lose one of our own. I consider myself a patriot, but I’m starting to consider migration now, because unless I erect a fortress like the wealthy do, I’m fair game, and I don’t intend to have my bright future cut short by some trigger happy hooligan. This almost reminds me of Order 66 in Star Wars, where the Jedi Order was decimated by the forces of the Sith.
Not saying that Jamaican police are as noble as the Jedi. In fact, they’re some of the most corrupt civil servants you can find. But at the end of the day, they are our only defense against the criminal element. And they seem hellbent on eliminating that defense. This is yet another reason why hanging should be resumed. To hell with Amnesty International! How dare they impose their Western ideals on us! They aren’t going through what we’re going through. I don’t think any of them has spent even a week in Jamaica. Our criminals aren’t interested in stealing old ladies purses or robbing liquor stores. They’re out to disrupt the very fabric of our society, and we cannot let that happen. One thing’s for sure, something drastic has to be done. We can’t simply get a couple more guns and vehicles and hire a British guy like we did in the past. Your move Bruce.
Ricardo Says:
December 7th, 2007 at 2:23 am
I wonder if this particular officer was in on something bad with the criminal elements. We may never know.
That is a frighteningly high number either way. Hope the forces of good find ways to stem the tide.
Melody Says:
December 7th, 2007 at 8:15 am
It seems police work is thankless work for de most part — they’re not saints of course, but they’re human, an’ deserve humanitarian efforts too.
Esteban Agosto Reid Says:
December 7th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
Excellent post!Also,I concur with your position and sentiments regarding the brutal,savage,and bloodthirsty attacks on the Jamaican state manifested in the form of the police by ruthless thugs,hooligans,gangsters and murderers.Apparently,these criminal elements have become much more emboldened and assertive in plying their harrowing and sanguinary trade,as evidenced by the number of police assassinated since January,and the rate at which police officers have been assassinated post the September 3rd General Elections. The brazen,defiant,and barefaced nature of some of these assassinations also begs many questions.Supposedly,the police are the last bastion or bulwark of defence and security for the denizens of Jamaica against the criminals and terrorist in the society,but if these terrorist are in a position to calculatedly and systematically wage such attacks on the police, the future and security of the average citizen will be one of constant fear and excessive anxiety,as a consequence of being trapped in a slaughterous and cruel hell hole or killing field.It is imperative that sundry communities across the island start to communicate,interface, liason,and work with the Jamaica Constabulary Force in furnishing the police with information and real time intelligence as to who these killers are. Indeed,many of these killers are known in their respective communities, by wives, family members,girl friends,friends et al.Hence, it is critical that dialogue,detente and rapprochement between the police and the communities be established and cemented.Certainly,community members will be scared,fearful,and worried with respect to reprisals,retaliation,retribution and revenge by these terrorists, but sophisticated modalities,techniques, and methods can be employed by the police in obtaining information from the communities without divulging the source or sources of such information.Obviously,the Jamaican state is under siege by these elements, and the police cannot act or solve this cancerous problem of crime by themselves or alone.Granted,historically,community police relations have always been problematic and rather tenuous or insubstantial,but at this juncture and with the astronomically high incidence of crime,violence,and murders in the society, juxtaposed with abnormally high levels of police killings, both groups have to forge a bond and a union to fight this hellish Gorgon and monster of crime and criminality to save our beloved Jamaica.Now is the hour, before it is too late and the unravelling process becomes much more intensified and in essence uncontrollable.
Leon Says:
December 7th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
Wow Esteban! This is the longest comment I’ve ever gotten. In fact, I think it’s longer than my post!
Stunner Says:
December 7th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
This is a reflection of how distressing and dangerous our society has become. Once these gunmen have started to attack the very system in place to maintain order and protect, they have started to turn the wheels of anarchy. If they are brave enough to launch such an assault on the police then we stand no chance as proven by their killing of women, the elderly and now even children and babies. There are a lot of forces that have created this monster: politicians, gangs, and even our entertainment. Saying it is the last days is truly an easy explanation, but this behaviour certainly is evidence as things get worse.
Cranky Putz Says:
December 8th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
I love the way your write and your metaphors are off the chain…even if I haven’t ever watched star wars…
kami Says:
December 10th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
you know most people have a love /hate relationship with the police. As you rightly said some police are very corrupt and take innocent lives.That aside, if those protecting us are being taken away then it’s really an uneasy state
Mad Bull Says:
December 17th, 2007 at 5:42 am
I think Jamaica is like a cowboy movie. Its really like the “Wild, wild, west” down there now.
My thoughts on…the death of Dee-Andrea Morris on My thoughts…on stuff Says:
December 17th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
[...] writing about how the crime monster has claimed our nation’s finest, it now hits close to home. Truly, no one is immune. I remember the last time I spoke to her. It [...]
Long Bench Says:
April 4th, 2008 at 12:01 am
To think that the police are the only defense against criminality is what has gotten us into this mess. That’s why the police are so corrupt, and why we sit here slack-jawed and impotent, wringing our hands about what to do. The police are literally the flip side of criminals and work hand in hand with them. They have been given too much power that they don’t know how to handle, and they have misused it and now don’t know what to do now that their partners in crime have turned on them; retribution is at the heart of the killing of police; the dead ones were complicit, and the live ones know it. We are also sanctioning this kind of extra-legal violence when we cheer when police do it, but get all up in arms when police are killed. The Commissioner of Police needs to seriously clean house and make the police afraid to screw up; the longer they take to do this, the worse it is for us. When police corruption declines, we will see a dramatic decrease in the levels and kinds of violence being committed around us. Don’t be deluded about what’s holding us hostage — the police are not working on our side as they should be.
Long Bench’s last blog post..By: ZED MCKENZIE