Buckfield residents still insist a ‘terrorist’ was removed from their midst
OCHO RIOS, St Ann — The visitor to Old Buckfield in St Ann would hardly know that only 10 days ago, the Ocho Rios enclave was in turmoil, after cops beat and shot to death an apparently unarmed man accused of killing a woman.
Yesterday, the community appeared to have shrugged off the fuss made by human rights organisations, going about its business as if nothing had occurred, let alone a spectacular event that triggered national outrage.
For some residents with whom the Sunday Observer spoke, the ugly event which was caught on video and flashed on television screens has placed the community in a bad light. But they described the community as a very peaceful place with loving people.
And the national commotion over the killing of Ian ‘Ching Sing’ Lloyd has hardly dented their passionate defence of the three Ocho Rios cops who were seen raining blows on the man lying on the ground.
“Buckfield is a very peaceful place. We have never had any incident like this before, it’s only because of that incident why we are in the news,” said Josh Brown as he sipped on his drink inside a bar close to where the incident took place.
“People don’t really trouble people around here, it’s a good little community,” he insisted.
Old Buckfield, located approximately 300 metres from the Ocho Rios Police Station and in close proximity to the Ocho Rios market, public transport centre and the commercial heart of the north coast tourist resort, is home to approximately 2,000 residents. It was one of the first two communities to be established in Ocho Rios, and its existence, in fact, predated the development of the town, bordering on the communities of Carib Heights to the east, and New Buckfield to the south.
Before July 29, the only tale of sadness that one would likely have heard is about the number of drug addicts that plagued the area. Townfolk said ‘Ching Sing’ was one such.
Several small businesses, including grocery shops, garages, auto parts shops, bars and restaurants as well as a basic school and a church are located in the community. People there are mainly employed in the local tourism industry, as well as the transport sector. Many also work on cruise ships, while others have gained employment overseas as seasonal workers in the hospitality industry.
What exploded on July 29 was anything but hospitality.
On the video tape caught by a private citizen using his camera phone, three cops, one using a baton, were seen repeatedly hitting a man on the ground. The man appeared to be fending off the cops with an unidentifiable object but seemed generally helpless.
People gathered at the scene were heard on the video tape encouraging the cops, one of whom pointed his service firearm at the man and fired a shot. The official police report of the incident from the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN), the information arm of the force, said Ching Sing was shot by the police after he attacked them.
The cops were ordered arrested by Police Commissioner Owen Ellington, but some residents hail the policemen as heroes, and not the villains they have been made out to be by the society in general.
They believe the actions of the police were justified as they acted not only to protect their lives, but that of residents who have been under threat from Lloyd, and they have vowed to continue supporting the policemen “full hundred”.
“Jamaica don’t know half a wha gwan. If the human rights people dem and the commissioner and everybody who a condemn the police did know the full hundred, dem woulda never a behave so,” said a resident who gave her name only as Joy.
“A true man, people only a talk and dem don’t know weh dem a talk bout. Dem know ‘Ching Sing’? Is a wicked yuth dat eenuh. Dem know how many people him coulda kill dat day? A long time dem shoulda get rid of him,” another woman chimed in.
The residents claimed that for many years Ching Sing had terrorised Old Buckfield, as well as the adjoining communities of Pineapple and New Buckfield. They accused him of constantly breaking into their houses and businesses and stealing food, money, clothing, appliances and other values.
The residents said there was no peace in the community because of Ching Sing and that many citizens were living in fear because of his violent behaviour.
Ching Sing was only released from prison in early July, after serving an 18-month sentence for housebreaking and larceny.
“When him break inna yuh house, him a thief yuh most expensive things: DVD, jewellery, him a eat out yuh food and full him belly… and if you see him and yuh ask him bout it, him pull him knife or machete pon you,” a resident said.
“It was only a matter of time before him kill somebody,” said a shopkeeper in the community who didn’t give his name. “He was a nuisance in the community, him tired fi bruk inna me shop. I suffered at his hands, my place couldn’t be more secured for him to find some way to break in.”
The shopkeeper showed the Sunday Observer a hole in the roof which he said was made by Ching Sing.
The residents said they were supporting the police because their act of bravery saved other lives. They claimed that Ching Sing, even while on the ground, was determined to harm other residents and the police.
They corroborated CCN report, saying that the police tried for about one hour to restrain Ching Sing who was throwing stones and using a broken bottle to stab at the cops.
The CCN report also drew outrage from an unbelieving public and resulted in swift changes to how they report on incidents of crime involving the police.
The residents denied that the uniformed policeman seen on the video using his baton to strike Ching Sing was beating him, but was instead attempting to get Ching Sing to drop the broken bottle he had in his hand.
“Him wouldn’t let go the bottle and every time the policeman go near him, him stab at the police, so they had to do what they had to do. Ching Sing was armed and dangerous,” argued a woman who was speaking for a group. “The police were only doing their job, they did nothing wrong and Jamaica need to understand that, this is a totally different case from the other police killings…”
Ching Sing was a murder suspect in the death of Loveta Wilson, who was fatally stabbed earlier in the day. Another woman was also stabbed and had to be treated at hospital.
Added another resident: “Him (Ching Sing) might be a coke head, but him have sense, him wasn’t like the other coke heads weh walk and pick off breadfruit and ackee, him no want that, him go fi things with value.”
The residents are also furious that Ching Sing, whom they described as a known criminal in the community, was being made out to be an innocent individual. At the same time, the residents are upset that little or no focus was placed on the life which was taken by Ching Sing.
“The woman no do him nothing and him just say him feel like fi kill somebody and see the woman a come from shop and rush her and start stab her up, somebody like that no deserve fi live,” said another, who also claimed that Wilson was not Ching Sing’s common-law wife, as had been earlier reported.
Two of Wilson’s children, Makeba and Marcus Rodney, have expressed disappointment over what they described as the lack of focus on their mother’s death.
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