Slain cop missed out on firstborn

CHANTILLY, Manchester:

In less than five months, 27-year-old Constable Kemar Francis would have had the opportunity to hold his firstborn and acknowledge his role as a father.

But that will never be realised.

The family of the young cop, who died sometime after midnight Friday after a gun attack in Whitfield Town, Kingston, are still in shock and struggling to verbalise their pain.

“He was very jovial, ambitious, independent, and trustworthy. He was someone you could easily get along with, and he was always giving advice to the youngsters,” said aunt Lorrain Francis on Sunday.

The deCarteret College alum is said to have had big plans for his life and thought he could make some of his dreams come true by joining the police force.

“He didn’t plan on staying in the police force all of his life ... ,” Ms Francis told The Gleaner.

“He was always saying he wanted to further himself. He wanted to go back to school and advance himself because he had that mindset.”

The only son for his parents, Francis would frequently visit his family, supporting his only sister and tending to the immediate needs of his mother.

Francis’ aunt said that his mother, who had been discharged from hospital a week ago after undergoing a surgical procedure, “is not taking it well at all”.

The young constable had only returned to work last Monday after being on sick leave for three weeks.

“He came down Tuesday to take his mother back for a review in Kingston on Wednesday, and he left Chantilly early Thursday morning for his 8 o’clock shift ... ,” said Lorrain. “My God! We didn’t know Thursday morning was the last time we would see Kemar.”

Constable Francis’ father and sister – his best friend, according to his aunt – have been rocked by his death.

The family and the community of Chantilly will never be the same again, said Lorrain.

Though police killed one of the attackers, Shavaugh ‘Bunwaist’ Johnson, 28, and remain on the hunt for other gunmen, Ms Francis wishes the efforts were able to bring her nephew back.

“Everybody has been crying since we heard. ... It’s going to take us years to cope,” she said.