Slain trainee policeman’s family took threat lightly

WESTERN BUREAU :

A man fingered in the death of trainee police constable Duvaughn Brown of Williamsfield in Naggo Town, Westmoreland, had threatened the student policeman’s brother hours before the shooting, stating that he had not yet made any duppy for 2020 or 2021.

The making of duppy (ghost) is a common terminology used in the streets to describe the killing of persons.

Brown, 25, was ambushed and shot from behind in his community by gunmen on Wednesday night. His killers reportedly fired a number of shots into his body while he lay lifeless on the ground.

The man who made the threat is currently on the run; however, two of his alleged cronies are behind bars. The killing is believed to have stemmed from an argument Brown’s family and their neighbours had regarding a group of dogs that was reportedly constantly attacking their goats.

“It (the attack of the goats by the dogs) cause problem in the day. And the youth who did the killing look pon mi next bredda and seh him nuh mek a 2020 or 2021 duppy yet, but we never tek it serious,” said Brown’s brother, Roy Cunningham.

MISTAKEN IDENTITY

Distraught by the murder of his younger brother, who he said was a model citizen who gave no trouble in the community, Cunningham believes his sibling was killed because of mistaken identity.

“Him nuh give problem. Him nuh mek problem, but he was wearing the same shirt I had on two nights before,” he argued, explaining that he was not expecting his younger brother in the community that night, but he helped out a friend of theirs by transporting some bearings needed for a block-making machine.

Cunningham, who lost another brother to the gun before, said he was inside his house when he heard a barrage of gunshots. “I heard three first, and when I went to investigate, a bike rider told me he had just passed a man in the road suffering from gunshot wounds,” he said.

Brown was shot by the perpetrators from behind and when he fell on the ground they went over his body and finished the job, his brother noted.

Cunningham is not convinced that the states of public emergency will place a dent on crime in his parish of Westmoreland, because men walk through the bush instead of driving through the checkpoints. According to him, everyone knows who killed his brother.

Police reports are that Brown, who recently enrolled and was in training to join the police force and was assigned to the Manchester Police Division on internship, went to purchase food at a shop when he was shot.

Their investigations reveal that Brown’s brothers and some men known as ‘Starter War’ and Nairie Richards, otherwise known as ‘Jago’ from the area, were embroiled in a dispute that may have led to the trainee policeman’s death.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com