Taxi leaders deplore voice notes but top cop dismisses hit rumour
Published:Wednesday | November 2, 2022 | 12:10 AM
The heads of at least two taxi associations have denounced violence against the police following Tuesday’s shooting of a traffic cop in downtown Kingston and celebratory voice notes which surfaced of persons purporting to be cabbies.
Aaron Mattis, president of the Spanish Town Taxi Association, deplored pronouncements of planned attacks on the police.
“Anything in any shape or form that would cost a life has to be denounced. As far as I’m concerned, if you have a problem with the man (policeman), there are channels to deal with it. Legal channels to deal with it. There is no way, no man should have gone that route,” Mattis said.
But Commissioner of Police Major General Antony Anderson dismissed the allegations of a hit on the cop that were fuelled by the viral voice notes.
Anderson said that there was no evidence to substantiate those claims.
“I went down to KPH and spoke to him myself to get a first-hand account of what happened, and based on what he indicated what happened, there is no particular indication from the incident that that was what was happening,” the police chief said during a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
“Unless we get some more information or intelligence that suggests that, I wouldn’t go down that road at this point.”
Anderson said the policeman’s injuries are not life-threatening.
Reports are that shortly after 7 a.m., the cop, who was driving a service motorcycle, was shot by men travelling on a bike along East Queen Street near Central Police Station.
Raymond Bynes, president of the All-Island United Group Taxi Association, said that he was not aware of the voice note allegations but renewed the call for reform of the transport sector.
“That allegation or assumption about taxi operators is very unfortunate. I have been asking the relevant authority and people who are in position to make changes to how taxis operate. Until those changes are made, you will always find anarchy and a lot of disagreements between taxi operators and the police or people in authority,” Bynes said.
Bynes suggested that the authorities work towards enforcing safer operations.
“They need to have these taxis aligned to an association, organisation, or a company. If any of those taxis within that company or organisation commits any breach on the roads, whether it is to a police, civilian, or pedestrian, that taxi can be immediately identified,” Bynes said.