By John Myers, Jr and Nagra Plunkett, Staff ReportersTHE JAMAICA Constabulary Force (JCF) is mourning the loss of Constable Joshua Black, 38, who was attached to the Area Three Scenes of Crime Unit. He and another man identified as Greg Elvie, 21, both of Bucknor district in May Pen, Clarendon, were shot dead by gunmen.
The Constabulary Communication Network (CCN) reported that Constable Black was among a group of persons in a yard in the district at about 8:10 p.m. Wednesday when two gunmen approached and fired several shots, which hit him and Elvie. Both men were taken the May Pen Hospital where they were pronounced dead. The killers took the policeman's firearm.
NO BREAKTHROUGH
Superintendent Terrence Bent, head of the Clarendon police, said yesterday the police were pursuing several leads but have not yet made a breakthrough in the case.
He described Constable Black as "a wonderful person" and said "the division on a whole is very sad at his loss because he was intimately involved with us on a daily basis, almost every day he was at the May Pen CIB doing follow-up investigations or just talking to the police about cases they were investigating."
Francis Forbes, the commissioner of police, has condemned the murder and reiterated the need for cooperation from citizens in the enforcement of law. "When people keep silent when dastardly deeds are done and only speak if it affects them or loved ones, it serves to embolden perpetrators to commit more heinous acts," said the commissioner.
Ten policemen have been killed since January.
MURDER RATE SOARS
Meantime, the murder toll for St. James reached 117 on Wednesday night with the killing of a man identified as Okar Walker, 21, of Norwood district in the parish.
Walker was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his head and chest, after residents reportedly heard gunshots in the Norwood area about 8:30 p.m. and called the police. Reports are that Walker's life had been threatened after he "broke company with some men and decided to turn over a new leaf."
Law enforcement officers in the parish have been battling an increase in homicides, especially in the Norwood and Glendevon communities, where a number of strategies were implemented this year, but achieved limited success.
However, the police there are optimistic that the recent move by the Ministry of National Security to deploy a unit of the Special Anti-Crime Task Force (SACTF) will help to curb the problem.
