GOLDING
OPPOSITION LEADER Bruce Golding has requested a meeting with Prime Minister P.J. Patterson to carve out answers to what he describes as the 'grave threat' to the country's security.
Mr. Golding's request, which was contained in a press statement issued yesterday, came after the police identified gunmen from his West Kingston constituency as being responsible for the killing of three policemen and two security guards between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
In his letter to Mr. Patterson, the Opposi-tion Leader said the killing of the policemen and the attack on the Cross Roads Police Station appeared to have been a calculated assault on the police force. Mr. Golding said it was necessary for both political leaders and the security forces to reinforce the resolve to confront the threat, as well as identify and strengthen strategies to effectively deal with it.
DEAD POLICEMEN
Yesterday, Mr. Golding met with Police Commissioner Lucius Thomas to discuss the policemen's murder and also the killing of the two security guards.
The dead policemen are 44-year-old Inspector Lascelles Walsh, formerly of the Police Traffic Division; Corporal Lewis Chandler, 52, who was attached to the Protective Services Division; and 63-year-old District Constable Canute Brown of the Cross Roads Police Station.
One of the security guards killed has been identified as Richard Adams, 46.
FULL SUPPORT
Mr. Golding assured the Police Commissioner of his full support and that of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in the efforts by the police to apprehend those responsible for these heinous crimes, the press release said.
On Wednesday, Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of crime, Mark Shields, told The Gleaner that evidence had so far pointed to gunmen from Tivoli Gardens being behind the murder of the policemen and security guards.
He, however, stressed that the police force will not launch a 'major onslaught' on West Kingston, which was the scene of a controversial invasion by the security forces in 2001. Rather, he said, squads will conduct thorough searches in the community.
"There will be road checks, intelligence-led searches of premises and we will work over a longer period of time. It is not our intention to disrupt the lives of everyone in Western Kingston; we will focus our activities on those people who are trying to ruin this country," said Deputy Commissioner Shields.
Yesterday, Mr. Golding said he welcomed Shield's statement that the police reaction to the murders will be intelligence-driven. He also urged the security forces to pursue those criminals wherever their intelligence leads them.
