Police probe

• INDECOM investigation to include deaths in lock-ups

With
eight mentally challenged persons killed in confrontations with the
police in the past two years, the Independent Commission of
Investigations (INDECOM) yesterday announced that it has launched a
criminal probe to determine if anyone should be held accountable.


INDECOM Commissioner Terrence Williams said his office would look at each case to see whether the killings were justified.

"If not, we will refer the matter for prosecution," he warned during a press conference at his New Kingston offices.

INDECOM has also launched a probe into reports, which it has confirmed, that four persons in custody have died in the same police lock-up in Port Antonio, Portland, over the past two years.

Williams said that since the start of the investigation, INDECOM has received information about the death of someone in custody at the Linstead police lock-up in St Catherine.

Broader issues

Williams said that apart from seeking to determine culpability, investigations would examine "broader issues" and make recommendations to avoid similar deaths.

"Is it a situation where there should be greater supervision of the lock-up? Is it a situation where persons should be assessed more closely before they are placed in lock-ups? Situations like these are the things we will have to consider in our investigation," he said.

Williams said his office had seen several cases where persons who appear to be mentally challenged, and had become violent, were fatally shot by the police.

The INDECOM boss sympathised with cops saying he understood the challenges they faced when a mentally challenged person was armed with a weapon.

Consequently, he said his office would widen the probe to see what recommendations could be made.