Laing launches 'Point Blank Range' tonight

Davina Henry, Gleaner Writer

'It was about 5 a.m. when I got back to the station. Once there, I was frozen at the thought of what had happened. I could not believe I had escaped; I had only been 10 yards from deaths. By early morning news had spread that Natty Chris had killed Laing. Clearly, neither Natty Chris, who had fired at me, or others in the community who heard what happened could believe that I escaped death unscathed."

- Point Blank Range: 'A Jamaican Bad Man Police' - The Isaiah Laing Story pg 149

His book chronicles near-death experiences, shoot-outs and corruption and skillfully charts the rise of one of the most feared police officers, Isaiah Laing. With his autobiography. Point Blank Range: 'A Jamaican Bad Man Police' - The Isaiah Laing Story, launching tonight, Laing told The Gleaner that the history of his time in the Jamaica Constabulary Force needed to be put on record for future generations.

"History needs to be told. For the amount of work that I put in to the force, the younger generation needs to understand how things use to go. It's nutt'n like now, it's part of history," he said

The former policeman, dubbed 'Super Cop' by residents of Arnett Gardens, served as an officer for 20 years before retiring in 1996.

Now, the CEO of one of the most successful reggae-dancehall stage shows, Laing pointed out that during the height if his tenure in the force, he had the dubious reputation of fatally wounding more criminals in the line of duty than any other officer. He was also the officer to be shot at the most times.

THREE CONNECTS

"Nobody else in the force has ever been shot at so many times at point-blank range and survived to tell the tale. I've been shot at more than 60 times, seven of which were at point blank range, but only three actually connected."

Though the launch of his first book is still hours away (scheduled for a 7 p.m. start time at the Police Officer's Club), Laing has already set his sights on a second book, which will focus more on Sting, an event which has been around for 30 years.

"Every police needs to read this book. The people from Arnett Gardens, Jones Town and the surrounding areas also need to read this book because I'm sure it will bring back memories. It's a book that everyone can learn a lot from. I have gone through a lot. A lot of police tried to do what I did and failed. At one time, we had to wonder who next as a police officer would die," he said.

"Me a did one of the baddest of them all. That's why I got the name Super Cop by the people of Arnett Gardens. I was one of the most feared police officers ever."