Residents block MoBay to Negril thoroughfare in protest over police killing
Published:Thursday | October 17, 2024 | 12:13 AMAdrian Frater/Gleaner Writer
Western Bureau:
Motorists, including several visitors to the island, were trapped in Sandy Bay, Hanover, for several hours yesterday morning as residents of the community staged a fiery demonstration along the Montego Bay to Negril thoroughfare to protest Saturday’s killing of a resident by the police.
The police said the deceased man, 20-year-old Kiron Vidal, was killed in a confrontation in which an illegal firearm was seized, but the residents have rejected that claim, saying he was murdered in cold blood inside his house by the police.
According to Audrey Irving, the deceased man’s aunt, who was among the scores of protesters, her nephew was at home on Saturday when a police team showed up and began knocking on his grille. He reportedly opened the grille and let the officers into the house.
“He opened de grille and let dem in, and when dem enter, dem tell mommy (his grandmother) fi sit down pon de couch, and then dem push him inna him room and all she hear is a shot,” said Irving. “One shot fire inna him head … then dem drag and put him inna de Jeep and gone with him … . From that we nuh hear nothing from dem.”
The irate residents were adamant that Vidal, who had just recently completed the requisite paperwork to join his parents in Canada, was not a criminal, and the best they could do was to seek justice on his behalf, and in so doing, clear his name.
“Kiron was not a gunman. Kiron nuh have bad name a police station. Him name nuh deh pon no wanted listed, so why dem just come kill him suh?” asked an upset female protester as she displayed a placard with a photograph of the deceased man.
“We want to know what is behind this because he is a man who nuh keep company. Most of the time him just inna him room a play video game … him nuh keep friend … him hardly talk,” added another protester.
According to the police’s version of the incident, acting on information, a police team went to Vidal’s house, where they were greeted by gunfire. They said the fire was returned and he was killed. They said an illegal firearm was taken from his body. In addition to their anger towards the police, who they claimed acted without justification, the residents are also taking issue with the conduct of the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), saying they were not through with their investigations.
“We have video footage which show the police behaving inappropriately after the shooting, which we see as good evidence to show that what the police are saying is not true,” said a relative of the deceased man, “INDECOM came and promised to return to look at the video footage, but they have not come back.”
Deputy Superintendent of Police Angela McIntosh Gayle, the operations officer for the Hanover police division, who was at the scene of yesterday’s protest restoring order, told The Gleaner that in urging the residents to desist from blocking the road, they were told that the matter was being investigated by INDECOM.
“A loss of life is not something we glorify, but when it do happen, we take the necessary steps to ensure that justice is served. So whatever they deem justice to be, we are already embarking on that,” said McIntosh Gayle. “We have asked the community to desist from what they are doing [blocking the road] because it is also a breach of the National Solid Waste Act, and so persons can be charged.”