THE police have identified one of three men killed in a firefight in the Five Miles area off the Sligoville main road in St Catherine, Friday morning, during which gunmen used a child to draw cops closer before opening fire, killing one law enforcer.
He is Malique Hussey, otherwise called Mal Boss, from Spanish Town, St Catherine, with connections in Five Miles.
According to the police, Hussey was a known associate of a high-risk target identified as Kenroy Willis, who operates out of the St Andrew North Police Division and is wanted for four murders.
Up to news time the police had not determined the identities of the other two men who were fatally shot in the gun battle which also resulted in the death of Corporal Trevoy Shaw, who was assigned to the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s (JCF) Special Operations Unit, and the injury to a constable who, up to press time, was in hospital in critical condition.
A third cop suffered minor injuries, not gunshot-related, during the incident.
A 10-year-old child was also shot in what Jamaica Observer sources say was a deliberate attack by Hussey, who was her father.
According to the police, about 5:15 Friday morning members of its Special Operations Unit went in search of Willis, Hussey, and their cronies.
On arrival, the police were met with gunfire by men who had barricaded themselves in a house with a woman and three children, including a monthsold baby.
During the stand-off the men indicated that they wanted to surrender, and used one of the children to signal their willingness to lay down their illegal firearms.
“I can confirm that a child was held out the door, and it was declared that they were willing to surrender, and when the police approached, seeking to retrieve the child, fire was opened upon those policemen,” senior communications strategist at the Jamaica Constabulary Force Dennis Brooks told journalists metres from the shooting scene.
“The gunmen shot from behind the child, which placed the police in a precarious position, even in accessing the building, because of the presence of children,” Brooks said.
He explained that they were met by heavily armed men, and a woman declared from inside the building that she and two children were inside.
The woman, the injured 10-year-old, and the baby were allowed to leave the building by the gunmen, who kept a child inside the house as they continued to fire at the cops who were supported by members of the Jamaica Defence Force.
According to Brooks, the men manipulated the presence of the children in the house and the police’s willingness to accept their surrender, pretending to wave the ‘white flag’ multiple times.
“It is the intention of the police on every operation to bring persons to justice, place them before the court, and so it is not our intention to proceed marauding into a building — whether or not there are children and women in there.
And if there is an indication, even the slightest indication, that they are willing to surrender then we are going to engage that possibility,” Brooks said.
He lamented the death of the corporal who was trying to retrieve the child, describing it as heartbreaking.
“I left several policemen and women in tears in Kingston because they knew him well… He was promoted to the rank of corporal about a month ago, which speaks to his own dedication and the recognition of his work.
“I mean, imagine at this time he is just enjoying this new development in his career, and he is [the] pride of his family in this moment, and for his life, his light to be put out in such a manner in seeking to make this country a safer place — it is heartbreaking,” Brooks said.
The pain of Shaw’s colleagues was palpable at Spanish Town Hospital as news spread that two of their colleagues had been rushed there with gunshot wounds.
It became worse when it was confirmed that he had died while the constable had been rushed into surgery.
Shortly after 10:00 am a policeman was seen leaving the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department (A&E), with sources indicating that he was the person who had suffered the non-gunshot-related injury.
The cop appeared to be in some discomfort as he limped towards a police vehicle parked on the grounds of the hospital.
The vehicle was quickly surrounded by other cops.
Shortly after 11:00 am, people who appeared to be related to the shot cops stormed onto the facility, with cries of grief, as they sought to enter the A&E Department seeking answers.
About five minutes later a black police vehicle raced onto the compound, with cops carrying what appeared to be the bodies of the three slain criminals.
For a minute chaos unfolded as several people hurried to the van to observe what was happening.
But this curiosity was stopped in its tracks by police personnel, who chased away civilians trying to capture videos or photos.
In his immediate reaction to the attack on the men and women under his command, Police Commissioner Dr Kevin Blake, who visited the scene, described the gunmen as murderous.
He said while death is always a possibility for a cop, “We prepare, we equip, so that every single member after an operation goes home to his or her family safe and injury-free.
Unfortunately this morning, that hope and that preparation was shattered.” Blake told the police on the scene that the best way to honour their fallen comrade would be to remain relentless.
“Because we are who we are, because we would rather take them in to face the court, we lost a member… let not that define how we operate going forward,” said Blake.
“I know it is a tough time, and for the colleagues of the officer killed and the officer injured, I understand,” added Blake.
The attack on the police was condemned by political representatives during Friday’s sitting of the Senate, human rights group Jamaicans For Justice, and several other organisations
