Healing a broken Braeton - Death house still abandoned, residents fearful 13 years after the killing of seven youths

Gary Spaulding, Senior Gleaner Writer

It has been 13 years since the nation woke to the numbing news that the police had killed seven young men during an early-morning operation in Braeton, St Catherine.

Since that fateful morning of March 14, 2001, the house at Lot 1088 Fifth Seal Way, where the killings occurred, has, for the most part, been forsaken.

The house is painted in blinding yellow these days but some neighbours are still too terrified to walk past the place where Lancelot Clarke, Christopher Grant, Curtis Smith, Tamoya Wilson, Regan Beckford, André Virgo and Dane Whyte were killed when a police team led by then Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams moved in.

When The Sunday Gleaner news team visited the house on the 13th anniversary of the tragedy, windows and doors were closed and residents said it has been a picture of desolate abandonment for the past 13 years.

One neighbour said a caretaker "comes and goes" from the premises.

"It was a dump yard after the tragedy, I am happy to see that they have cleaned it up," said the man.

"People who live in the area are still traumatised and are afraid to walk by ... even the next door neighbour prefers to take the long way around," he added.

The aches of relatives of the seven still linger, although 13 years have passed since deadly gunshots shattered the silence that fateful morning.

It was not only the transient silence of the dawn that was brutally broken, but the course of events for the people of the community was changed.

Relatives and friends of those who died claim they were met with much resistance from the police when they assembled to mark the 13th anniversary of the killings.

Memorial permit denied

"They don't even want to grant us a permit," said a brother of one of the victims, who asked not to be identified. "Every year at this time, we seek permission to hold a memorial and it is denied."

Added the grieving brother in soft tones: "It's been a rough time for all the families, but it is even harder in times like these when the anniversary comes around."

Although no permit was granted, the residents and friends still staged a memorial but the police moved in.

"The last time we sought a permit, they (the police) said they would never grant it, they said no music, but we kept it anyway to preserve the memories of the youths who passed on," said the brother of one of the victims.

Apart from the pain of losing their loved ones, family members and friends of those who died remain hurt that the police involved were not found guilty of any wrongdoing.

In February 2005, nearly four years after the seven men were killed, Constables Leighton Bucknor and Miguel Ebanks, Corporals Wayne Constantine and Linroy Edwards and Sergeant Raymond Miller were freed of their murder.

Now, 13 years later, the families and friends of the seven young men are trying to move on.

"I just want to leave it where it is - in the hands of God. We really want nothing from the Government because if we were to have got justice we would."

That seems to be the approach of the entire community, which is moving determinedly to exorcise the ghost of the past and the young people are at the centre of it all.

Last week, young men were seen at work on the football field in the area - obviously their pride and joy.

"We don't have any problems. The youths stay out of the hands of the law," said one young man.

The community's play area for small children is impressive with swings, monkey bar; slides and see-saw, among other equipment. The playground, as it is, with those around, is well tended. Few communities can, today, boast a cleaner environment.