District constable held with illegal gun absent from work 3 years
Published:Wednesday | March 2, 2022 | 12:10 AM
The district constable allegedly held with an illegal firearm in Seaview Gardens on Monday had not reported to work for more than three years and was not a paid employee of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.
Head of the St Andrew South police, Senior Superintendent Kirk Ricketts, told The Gleaner that the constable has been detained.
“He is in my custody and I suspect he will be charged shortly for the weapon,” Ricketts said on Tuesday.
The gun, a Smith & Wesson .45 calibre pistol, was loaded with 10 rounds.
It’s reported that a police team was on patrol in the community of Seaview Gardens in St Andrew when they saw a man seated on a wooden bench along the roadway.
The man’s actions reportedly aroused their suspicion.
He was searched and the gun seized.
The Gleaner understands that the district constable, whose name is being withheld, had been enlisted at the Hunts Bay Police Station.
“He, from my brief, is someone who would display some disciplinary issues and he would have stopped coming to work over three years ago,” said Ricketts.
The matter has been referred to the constabulary’s human resources department.
Head of the Inspectorate and Professional Standards Oversight Bureau, Assistant Commissioner of Police McArthur Sutherland, confirmed the district constable’s prolonged absence.
“The preliminary information that I have suggests that he would not been at work for a period of time. The specific period, I am not aware at this time,” Sutherland said.
“We will have to get to the division and get his record and get other material.”