Corrupt cop gets nine months' hard labour
Published:Saturday | January 30, 2010 | 12:00 AM
A policeman who pleaded guilty to corruption charges two weeks ago was sentenced to nine months' hard labour in the Spanish Town Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday.
He is Constable Anthony Davey, 35, who was attached to the Waterford Police Station in Portmore, St Catherine.
Defence attorney Windel Wellesley pleaded with the court not to impose a custodial sentence on his client.
The lawyer told the court to weigh in its consideration that the accused had been in custody since August last year.
However, Resident Magistrate Simone Wolfe-Reece, in handing down the sentence, scolded the accused for betraying the trust and authority the State had vested in him.
"As an officer of the law, you were entrusted to do good for the country. However, you abused that trust," Wolfe-Reece said.
Davey's appearance in court arose from an incident in August 2009.
The complainant was arrested and charged by Davey on breaches of the Rent Restriction Act. However, after the man was granted bail, Davey solicited $15,000 to discontinue the case.
Collected marked money
The man made a report to a colleague of Davey's at the Anti-Corruption Branch and he was caught during a sting operation collecting marked money.
The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has been stained by the perception of corruption within its ranks. Last year, just over 60 members of the force were arrested on corruption charges while more than 30 were kicked out of the force.
In December, the former head of the St Catherine North Police, Superintendent Harry Daley, was found guilty of corruption.
Daley, the highest-ranked policeman to be convicted of such crime, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. However, he has not been sent to prison as his lawyer has indicated that she will be appealing the conviction.
Meanwhile, the country's police anti-corruption czar, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Justin Felice, has said his office will continue its effort to rid the force of dirty cops.
On Wednesday, ACP Felice told The Gleaner that the Anti-Corruption Branch of the JCF had been reaping success in the fight against corrupt cops.
He said the public had been of great assistance noting that 98 calls to the Anti-Corruption Branch's 1-800-CORRUPT toll-free line had resulted in either arrest or disciplinary actions being brought against rogue cops.