St Thomas man shot and his 7-y-o daughter seriously injured,

The St Thomas police are probing the shooting death of a man and the injuring of his seven-year-old daughter in Lloyd’s district, Yallahs in the parish on Sunday, May 5. The dead man has been identified as Jermaine Kelly, a 35-year-old taxi operator of Lloyd’s district. Reports from the Yallahs police are that about 3:40 a.m., Kelly was alerted by a fire at his doorway. While extinguishing the blaze, he was reportedly greeted with gunfire by armed men. The police were summoned and upon their arrival, Kelly and his daughter were seen with gunshot wounds. They were taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead and the child was admitted for treatment in a serious condition. The police are asking anyone with information that can assist in their investigations to contact the Yallahs Police Station at 876-982-5075, the police 119 emergency number, or the nearest police station.

Kirk Frazer, the cop at the centre of allegations that he was involved in the murder of a Spanish Town businessman and the subsequent killing of another man after a high-speed chase, has denied that he was involved in any wrongdoing. In an interview last night on TVJ’s nightly newscast, Frazer said that he, Constable Rohan Williams, and another policeman were outside the dance where businessman Sheldon Daley was killed. But he denied that they were the ones who murdered him. Frazer said that they heard explosions and saw armed men running towards a Nissan Tiida. Frazer said he and his colleagues gave chase. During the chase, he said he noticed a white car following them. Frazer then said that he and his colleagues came under fire from the occupant or occupants of the trailing vehicle. He said that after the vehicle he was travelling in collided with a car, he lost consciousness. When he came to, Frazer said that he saw a man who he believed was a policeman, walked over to the other vehicle involved in the accident and shot a man. He said the same shooter then walked over to his vehicle and killed Williams. Frazer said that after a crowd started to gather, including other police personnel, he begged some cops to take him to hospital. However, he admits that he fled the vehicle for fear that they may have been rogue cops. Frazer said that he wants to turn himself in, but is fearful of the “negative news” being circulated. “I worried now even about my family,” he sobbed. “I’m learning now that the men who chased our vehicle are gangsters,” he said.

Head of the Mobile Reserve, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Terrence Bent has been sent on leave and the crimefighting unit is to be disbanded as a major shake-up and reorganisation gets underway inside the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

The announcement was made Thursday by National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang.

The development comes as the JCF continues to reel from the major embarrassment inflicted upon the organisation by Sunday’s incident in Spanish Town in which three alleged rogue Mobile Reserve cops murdered a civilian before one of them was shot and killed and two arrested - one of which has since supposedly escaped.

Another civilian was reportedly shot and killed during a shootout between the alleged rogue cops and their colleagues in the same incident that sent shockwaves across the nation and the diaspora. It has inflicted a major black eye on the JCF as Jamaicans question whether they can trust the police.

In a statement Thursday morning, Chang said Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson “has advised the government that in short order, major changes will come to both the management and oversight of the police force as well as changes of entities within the Force.”

He said Bent, a highly respected cop, was sent on leave to facilitate investigations at Mobile Reserve. At the same time, Assistant Commissioner of Police Warren Clarke is to oversee the winding up of the Mobile Reserve. Clarke will also “develop the framework for a new, vetted, specialised operations organization, properly trained and equipped to respond to current and future threats,” said Chang.

The security minister said the commissioner has also updated the government on the strategic plan for the JCF with the administration giving its commitment of budgetary and legislative support.

“These plans will be executed this year,” Chang said.

And Chang said Anderson will join him at a press conference next week, where more information will be provided.

In the meantime, he is urging members of the public to “support the process of change and reform.”

“We also ask members of the JCF to embrace this evolution and transformation as it will redound to their benefit, that of their family and the nation,” Chang said