The other night I was on Twitter when I started seeing Tweets in my timeline from other Jamaicans about a shocking killing caught on tape, shown on the local news station TVJ. At first, I dismissed it, thinking it was some gang-related shooting – but, much to my disgust, horror and utter shock, it was anything but! Watch the video above, read the article below to get further details on the incident.

I’m not going to personally write a summary of the events as related by local news; it matters not what the man was guilty or accused of doing…the fact of the matter is that he was on the ground, defenceless, writhing around in pain and obviously scared out of his mind. Instead of being apprehended by law enforcement, he was beaten about the head and arms with a baton and then shot a single time.

Take a moment and absorb that.

The man who was shot was not presenting a physical/mortal threat to the police officers on the scene at that time. It may be entirely possible that he presented some kind of a serious threat earlier on (prior to the start of the video being recorded) but REALLY?! Is it necessary to exterminate (I can’t even say ‘execute’) someone like a roach just because the surrounding mob is goading you on, encouraging you to do so?

I wonder if the members of the Jamaican Constabulary Force (JCF) were not instructed in the art of self-control.

This kind of shit makes me fear (but not become paranoid, mind you) for my country.

OCHO RIOS, St Ann – A shocking scene caught on video and showing citizens

cheering on three cops who were later arrested for beating and shooting a man to death, has drawn outrage.

Public Defender Earl Witter yesterday shouted “barbarism!” and the Police Federation hurled “abominable” at the cops who received an open show of support from residents of Buckfield in St Ann, for Thursday night’s killing of Ian ‘Ching Sing’ Lloyd.

Minister of National Security Senator Dwight Nelson reacted with “disappointment and sorrow” at the news that an unarmed man was beaten and shot to death by a police party after he was subdued.

A private citizen videotaped the scene in which the cops rained blows on the man as he lay defenceless on the ground.

“Lethal force is a last resort. Was that a last resort? What patently the videography appears to portray is barbarism of the first and worst kind, and ironically, the support for it which appears to have come from citizens represents their endorsement of barbarism,” Witter said.

In the video released to the news media, the police were heard getting verbal backing from onlookers who clamoured for the man to face vigilante justice.

Source: The Jamaica Observer