A plea by attorney-at-law Alexander Shaw for an incident involving his client Dean Jones, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) caretaker-candidate for the Trinityville division in St Thomas, not to be politicised, has fallen on deaf ears.
This, as the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has ripped into Jones for his actions, in which he is seen pulling a gun on a man as they exchanged blows in Trinityville, St Thomas, on Monday.
In a video that has been widely circulated on social media, a man clad in an orange T-shirt is seen walking up to a vehicle in which Jones, who’s wearing a green T-shirt, was sitting.
The orange shirt-clad man appeared to exchange words with Jones before he exited the vehicle, and the two men began exchanging blows.
Jones then pulled his firearm at the orange shirt-clad man, who got to the ground with his hands above his head. At this point, others started raining blows and kicks on the man, before the altercation seemingly ended.
According to Shaw, in a tersely worded statement, Jones was “physically attacked by persons unknown to him, causing him to sustain injuries”.
The attorney said Jones was “placed in imminent fear of his life”.
Seemingly referring to Jones pulling his firearm, Shaw said: “Aware of the mounting threat to his person, our client took defensive action to de-escalate the situation.
“He, thereafter, reported the matter to the St Thomas police, who are currently carrying out an investigation,” Shaw said.
Stating that the encounter was “very traumatic” for Mr Jones, Shaw urged the public to respect his client’s privacy and to “resist any attempt to politicise the matter”.
However, the PNP is not abiding by any such caution.
The party’s Shadow Minister of Citizen Security, Peter Bunting has “strongly condemned” what he described as “the recent acts of intimidation and assault [allegedly] perpetrated by Dean Jones… and those accompanying him, over the last 48 hours.
“These incidents not only violate the principles of democracy but also pose a grave threat to the safety and security of our citizens,” Bunting said in a statement.
The former security minister claimed that the first incident unfolded on Sunday evening at the Trinityville school, where a PNP workers meeting was in progress.
According to Bunting, Jones, accompanied by three carloads of JLP supporters, “engaged in provocative and intimidating actions aimed at disrupting the democratic process.
“A report has been promptly filed with the Trinityville police by PNP candidate Kimberly Thompson…” Bunting shared.
He said that subsequently, on Monday evening, “an even more disturbing incident took place, and a video recording of that incident has been widely circulated on social media platforms”.
“In this shocking event, Dean Jones confronted Wayne Walker in front of his business premises in Springfield, St Thomas, [reportedly] demanding the removal of an orange shirt and armband associated with the PNP. The situation escalated to violence as Jones and [others], dressed in green, assaulted Walker,” Bunting said.
Describing the brandishing of the firearm as “an alarming turn of events”, Bunting claims that Jones further escalated the tension.
The Opposition spokesperson said a report was made to the Morant Bay Police Station.
“I condemn these heinous acts in the strongest possible terms. Violence and intimidation have no place in our political discourse. I call on the JCF to swiftly and thoroughly investigate these incidents, holding those responsible accountable for their actions.
“Such behaviour undermines the democratic values we hold dear and threatens the safety of our citizens,” he said.
Bunting said the Opposition is calling for the Police High Command, through Deputy Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey, to keep the public continually updated on these investigations in his usual forthright manner.
He has also urged all political actors to prioritise a peaceful electoral process, and calls for a return to civility and respect for the rule of law in Trinityville and beyond.
When contacted Tuesday by Loop News, Shaw was reluctant to comment beyond the statement he issued earlier.
When pressed to respond to Bunting’s statement, Shaw said he had not seen it. While he was still speaking with our newsroom he said he had received the statement and was perusing it. He insisted on his client’s right to defend himself.
Said Shaw: “Whatever Mr Bunting will say, or has said, there are videos which capture perfectly what happened, and at no point in time one can decipher from those videos that Mr Jones was the aggressor. He was merely responding to an imminent danger, a threat which escalated into an altercation.
“Mr Bunting is a politician and that [his response] is expected, but I will urge him to exercise good judgement in the matter,” Shaw added.
The attorney insisted that he could not speak to the earlier alleged incident at the school in Trinityville.
“I can’t speak to that because my instructions are as I would have indicated in the press release. Mr Bunting seems to have more information (but) I don’t know, I don’t know what he’s speaking of.
“What I can speak of is what is captured on the video and, based on my client’s instructions and as far as I’m concerned, the matter has been reported to the police, and there is actually a statement which speaks to what really occurred, so the police can properly direct the narrative and confirm or deny whether what Mr Bunting is saying is true,” said Shaw.
He said he found Bunting’s statement “quite premature”.
