By Denise Clarke, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
A STRONG detachment of police was still in the Burnt Savannah area of Westmoreland up to late yesterday afternoon, after residents blocked the road to protest Tuesday's killing of three alleged gunmen by the police.
From about 10:00 a.m., the protesters blocked the Frome main road, moving eventually to the Toll Gate area, near Burnt Savannah, where the dead men resided.
The blockage was cleared late in the afternoon by the police. Reports reaching The Gleaner are that stones were thrown at police officers who had earlier attempted to clear the blockage.
"They were addressed by Superintendent (Cecil) Fletcher and DSP Lawrence after which the blockage was cleared," said Woman Constable Thomozene Foster, the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) liaison officer for the parish.
Personnel from the Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI), which is probing the killings, were also at the scene of the protest.
POLICE REPORT
The residents are disputing the police report of the events which led to the deaths of Craig Vascianne, 22; Evon Baker, otherwise known as 'Phil', 21, both unemployed; and 23-year-old taxi operator Ted Dexter Graham, all of Burnt Savannah addresses.
The police report that about 9:45 a.m., a team was on patrol in the Barham area when they spotted four men in a white Toyota Corolla motor car. The police say the men began to 'behave suspiciously' on seeing them, and sped away when police signalled the car to stop.
The police pursued the car, which stopped along a section of the Barham main road. The men reportedly alighted from the vehicle and fired at the lawmen when they attempted to approach the motor car. The police returned the gunfire and the three men were killed. The fourth man escaped in nearby bushes.
