THE JAMAICA Police Federation says it opposes the request from Jamaicans for Justice(JFJ) for the removal of a detective inspector formerly attached to the Hunts Bay police station in Kingston, who the human rights body has linked to six fatal shootings since 1999.
In a statement yesterday, the Federation said that its investigations had revealed that in most cases cited by Jamaicans for Justice, the detective inspector was not present at the scene, "let alone to be involved."
The Federation said that in the circumstances, it could not support the call for his removal and also warned against the intervention of Prime Minister P.J. Patterson in the issue. "The Federation notes with interest, the petitioning of the Prime Minister in this matter. However, we want to make it abundantly clear that any political intervention in the operations of the Jamaica Constabulary Force will be strongly challenged," the statement said.
Jamaicans for Justice, has asked the Government and the Jamaica Constabulary to follow up on a "precautionary measure" issued by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), requesting "thorough, prompt and impartial" investigations into the incidents of police abuse and, where appropriate, punish those responsible.
JFJ says it has documented the involvement of the detective inspector in six fatal shootings, between July 1999 and May 2002. JFJ said the details of the killings removed questions of a shoot-out as alleged in all cases by the police.
