St Ann community 'traumatised'

Member of Parliament (MP) for South East St Ann, Dr Kenneth Russell, has called for a full and transparent investigation into the killing of two brothers by the police in Steerfield, St Ann, early Monday morning.

Dead are brothers Ramone Henry and Davian Henry of Steerfield, St Ann. Unconfirmed reports put their ages at 29 and 32, respectively.

Police reports are that the men died during an operation in which the lawmen were fired upon and they returned the fire.

But according to Russell, the police account and that of the residents about what actually transpired are poles apart, hence he was calling for “INDECOM to be as thorough as possible and as expedient as possible in bringing clarity on the events from this morning”.

“The community has a very different version (to the police account),” Russell told The Gleaner. “They say one of them (victims) spoke to the police, he had a baby, a one-and-a-half-year-old child, and the child was taken from him and given to a caretaker before the gunshots started and, eventually, both were found dead.”

Residents blocked the road in the community yesterday morning in protest over the killing.

“The community is traumatised,” Russell told The Gleaner.

He added: “I am appealing to them to be calm, but people are really struggling with what happened today. These are young men, like 29 and 32 years old, and the belief was that one of them was actually asleep when the incident happened. It’s definitely not what we want in the community."

In a release on Monday, Russell extended his condolences to the families of the deceased and to the wider Steerfield and Golden Grove communities, noting the profound grief and distress now being experienced by them.

“Any loss of life under these circumstances is tragic, and the concerns being raised by residents make this situation even more troubling,” he said.

“The facts must be carefully established, and accountability must follow wherever the evidence leads. The public must have confidence that incidents such as these are handled with transparency and integrity,” he added.

Russell said if the claims of residents are substantiated, it would point to serious concerns regarding the use of force.

INDECOM has launched an investigation into the matter, a move welcomed by the MP.

carl.gilchrist@gleanerjm.com