By Damian Hendricks
Jamaica is supposed to be a country of laws, but where do decent, law-abiding citizens turn when police personnel, paid to serve and protect its citizens, are as barbaric as criminals?
This week I was forwarded a very disturbing YouTube video by a friend. The video showed footage of the brutal beating and cold-blooded murder of a St Ann man, Ian “Ching Sing” Lloyd. What was even more disturbing was hearing people cheering and urging the policeman to kill the unarmed man. You could distinctly hear a voice in the crowd yell, “Light him up…”, while another shouted, “…bun him, nuh!”
To put the video in context, it was alleged that Mr Lloyd had stabbed and killed his girlfriend earlier that day. Even if Mr Lloyd had committed this egregious act, he is still innocent until proven guilty. He should have been arrested, tried in the court of law and if found guilty he should serve whatever sentence is handed down. Unfortunately, Mr Lloyd did not get his day in court. The cops took it upon themselves to play judge, jury and executioner.
Now, I’d be remiss if I did not mention that Police Commissioner Owen Ellington has publicly condemned the murder and has since ordered the killers arrested. Also, other decent citizens and public figures have condemned it. Public Defender Earl Witter has expressed disgust. Minister of National Security Senator Dwight Nelson reacted with “disappointment and sorrow” at the news of the unarmed man being beaten and shot to death. All this gives me hope that there are still people in the country who will not condone such abominable action.
I grew up in a volatile area of East Kingston and far too often I saw incidents where the police would shoot and kill innocent men only to issue the following statement: “Police exchanged fire and the assailant was discovered suffering from gunshot wounds. Assailant was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.” This cookie-cutter statement is often not true.
The policemen did not miss a beat and issued their own version of the incident by way of a statement saying that Mr Lloyd had attacked them with a knife when they accosted him. Fortunately, there was someone recording the whole incident.
These wrongdoers did not allow Mr Lloyd to have his day in court, but they will have theirs, and I pray to God justice will be served.
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